Rain
by Aiddon Raziel Valentine
Summary: Wash away sins that do not exist, bring torrents that no one needs
1. Toko Ame

Author's notes: Never thought I'd be doing something of this nature ever since the ever-so-popular AC was announced. Then again, people make stories of this all the time so I guess I shouldn't worry. I'm not exactly sure what spawned this idea, but I know it was an impulse (like every other story I make), but I guess this is what I get for watching more than ten episodes of Eva in one night. Anyway, this is…weird. Oh yeah, this won't have AC or DoC in the storyline, so there's no need to strain your brain.

XXXXX

Season One _Toko__ Ame _(Endless Rain)

Far beyond the Orient lies a country immersed in an endless squall. Walk as far as you can in it, you shall find not a sunny day or night with stars. The people were ignorant of a blue sky, only seeing iron-grey or pitch-black for an eternity. The drops fell to earth like tears from those above, though what kind they were was simple to guess.

The spires jutting through the town obviously conveyed that the style was not even remotely Wutainese. No one really knew where the place came from, saying that somehow it had always been there, like an ancient myth or folklore. Never matter, since that was not exactly the reason there was a huge airship headed towards it at the moment.

XXXXX

A sullen blonde sat by a window, his sapphire eyes' expression matching the atmosphere. He looked about mid-twenties, but the light in his eyes dictated that he might be older. His hair was a chaotic array of spikes, none of them conforming to any certain pattern.

His jacket was highly industrial, black leather with the sleeves ending a bit before his wrists. His pants were loose and of a blue fabric with zippers at the cuffs, loosened slightly to better fit the heavy boots he wore. Underneath his jacket he wore a dark blue shirt that fit his torso very tightly. His gloves were black leather with mythril plates on the backs and the fingers ending at the first digit. In his belt was s short sword about two feet in length, its blade jagged in a peculiar manner and widening at the tip. On its blade was a name: Hrunting.

The rain was like a deluge as high as he was and at sea, no less. His spikes quivered slightly due to the turbulence causing all kinds of shakes aboard the massive transport. Freezing rain stuck to the window, eventually being washed away by the next wave of water.

"Lord, what's with adults finding the rain fascinating?" said a dark-haired woman of about twenty-six standing right next to the blond.

The woman was of an athletic build, her curves minimal along with her bust, but she was quite beautiful. Her features dictated Oriental descent, but she was quite tall if she was so. Her eyes were black and shiny like oil. Her skin was highly pale, though a pinkish hue was still upon her cheeks.

Her dress was something one would associate with a cat burglar: all black. Her torso was covered by a turtleneck sweater without sleeves and her legs were clad with loose black pants that were hiked up due to a pair of _waraji_ she wore. Her left arm was protected by some odd garment resembling armor. Of course, this was evident from the three large shuriken that were folded and attached to her belt.

The blond didn't turn; he merely moved his irises to his eyes' corners.

"Yuffie, you're an adult." a shadow of a smirk, lips tugging a millimeter, appeared on the blonde's face.

"Hell, I still don't get what the hell is up with it."

A man, androgynous in the face and slim in build, looked from his spot where he was playing a game of chess with himself. His hair was jet-black and of an unkempt nature and long, going to about his waist. His skin was frighteningly pale, white as a ghost and revealing quite a few veins and arteries. His left arm was also odd being that from the elbow onward it was a mechanical claw bronze in color. But those eyes, those burning- blood-red eyes were by far his most frightening features. They seemed to sear a hole into whoever they were looking at.

His attire was mostly black. His shirt was leather with buckles on the high collar that split open and revealed some of his chest. His pants were baggy and also leather with superfluous zippers. His boots were unique, pointed with copper at the tips. On his forehead was a blood-red bandanna to match a rather long scarf that trailed to his knee.

"Rain isn't necessarily depressing, Yuffie." the man argued.

"How the hell isn't it?"

"Rain refreshes the earth and cleans it." the man moved a rook with his bronze claw "In essence, it wipes the slate clean."

The man took the opposing king, seeing no other moves possible.

"The hell's the point in doing that?" asked the pilot, a dirty-blonde with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Playing against yourself is good; because…" the androgynous one tapped his head with his claw "your worst opponent is often yourself."

The dirty-blonde laughed; smoke spilling out from between his teeth. This man was by far the oldest-looking, his stubble and grizzled face indicating that he couldn't be any younger than mid-thirties. His blond hair was swept back with a pair of aviator goggles atop it. He wore a blue tank top greasy with oil and his pants were in a horrid state of disrepair. His gloves were made of thick, brown leather with the fingers cut off and his boots were chapped to hell.

"Shit, my only enemy is someone who I stick at the end of my spear." he guffawed.

The blonde at the window got up; his jacket's chains and buckles jangling as he did so.

"Something the matter, Cloud?" asked a deep voice coming from a quadruped animal resembling a skinny, crimson lion with a flaming tail and tattoos and missing an eye curled in a corner.

"I saw the coast so I better tell a couple of people we're arriving soon."

Cloud slammed on a button, taking a lift down to a level below. He leaned against the wall, the hum of the lift slowly taking him downward all over his surroundings. He contemplated this mission, this whole situation. It sounded normal, but that…feeling, that, cold, squirmy feeling, like a hundred eels in his gut, was there. He'd felt it a hundred times and not once did it fail.

The lift arrived, stopping at Cloud's destination. Sounds of something being beaten was emanating from a room down the hall, the noise loud and sharp. Cloud opened a door, seeing a bald man and a red-haired man, slightly younger than the former, inside. The bald man was beating on a punching bag with his taped hands while the red-head was holding it to keep it from swinging away. Cloud tapped on the doorjamb, getting their attention.

"Get your things ready, we'll be arriving in a few minutes." he said straightforwardly.

"Alright, Boss." the red-head began taking the tape off the bald man's fingers.

"I'm your superior, Reno, not your boss."

"Hey, I gotta listen t' ya."

"Whatever." Cloud sighed.

The bald man flexed his fingers, getting the stiffness out of them from having to keep them curled for so long.

"Should we go to the bridge?" he asked Cloud.

"No, just get cleaned up, get dressed, and get ready."

"Take this, then." the man threw Cloud his sword.

Cloud caught the sword with a deft hand, nodding his head to acknowledge the man. The bald man took a towel, wiping the sweat off his back and shoulders.

"Wassup wit' 'im?" Reno asked.

"He's been like that since Sephiroth."

"Yeah, but e's got dat look in 'is eyes."

"Look?"

"Yeah, like e's lookin' tru' a scope, like 'e's not really lookin' at anyone."

Rude put a shirt on after drying off. After doing so, he dabbed a bit of cologne on his jaw-line.

"Y'know, we're not in some fancy-shmancy thing 'ere." Reno said, taking a cigarette out of a pack he had.

"You have to be polite."

"Yeah, yeah."

Reno looked out a window, seeing the torrential downpour. He took his cigarette out of his mouth, taking it between his thumb and index finger, and then blew smoke on the window. He adjusted his sunglasses, setting them upon the spikes of his hair.

"Dis is friggin' depressin'."

XXXXX

Cloud heard a clicking noise as he strolled in the hall, though he knew what it was. He pushed a door open slightly, seeing its occupant. Slender fingers curled around dark metal and put a rather sizeable machine gun together piece by piece.

A girl, no older than fifteen, was on a chair, her hair kept out of her face by a black bandanna across her forehead. Some bangs showed, dangling in front of her face a bit.

"I can't believe you can use that thing, Marlene." Cloud shook his head.

"Hey, someone's gotta cover your backs."

"Hey, remember-."

"Stay in the middle and be a good girl, right?"

Marlene slammed the clip into the gun, completely assembling the large firearm.

"Hey, I can take care of myself, y'know?" she said.

"Hey, last thing I need is Barret handing me my ass on a silver platter."

Marlene smirked, slinging the gun on a strap over her shoulder and hitching up the pair of green cargo pants she had on. The young girl put a vest on due to the fact that her shirt was mostly white. She gripped the leather gloves she had on, as though practicing the act of pulling a trigger.

The ship gave a lurch, making Cloud grab the doorjamb to right his stance. Marlene wasn't as lucky as she fell flat on her ass onto the floor. Cloud gave that illusion of a smirk again and offered Marlene his hand, helping her up.

"Thanks, ow." Marlene squinted one eye and rubbed her hindquarters.

"Hit'cha ass?" asked Reno, grinning with his shock-rod in his hand.

"Jerk."

The lift was heard arriving and the sound of four pairs of feet came soon after. Cid's head poked around the corner, jerking his head soon after to indicate that they had arrived. Cloud left, Marlene soon after him and the rest of the group following.

The rain pelted the airship heavily as ever, the drops sounding more like gunfire than water. Cid backhanded a red button on the wall, dropping the loading ramp onto the ground that was wet from rain. Cloud stepped out first, his spikes being struck by the downpour already.

"Fuckin' hell." Cid swore, putting his cigarettes into his pocket to keep them from being soaked.

"This rain is unnatural." Nanaki commented.

"No shit, old-timer."

"I'm actually barely an adult by my kind's standards."

"The fuck ever."

Cloud led, his boots squishing the ground that felt like it was going to give in at any moment. What was the town, five miles away? Yeah, that sounded right. The cliffs wouldn't allow the Cid to park the airship that close to the town safely, so this would be a pleasant little stroll.

The cliffs were something else, which was for sure. They looked more like the rows of teeth from a Behemoth than of rock. Cid led through this due to his adeptness at heights. Despite the fact that he was over forty, he still had the spryness of someone half his age. Cid held his spear with his teeth and began climbing up a sheer face, finding handholds that no one else saw. A few minutes later, a rope came down to assist the others at the bottom.

This wasn't so bad at first, but after about the fifteenth time it got extremely old. The rain was making everyone miserable, and having to do such physical work just pissed them off. Reno tried to find some sort of shelter from the rain, but all that happened was his suit getting soaked through and his spiked hair drooping from the rain.

"Remind me why da hell we're here in da foist place." he whined.

"Because someone's been whining about monster attacks." Yuffie explained.

"Big whoop, like dere's anyone who don't."

"The details aren't known, though." Vincent said before climbing up a cliff.

It was true, monster attacks happened all the time and the story behind this particular assignment was unknown, but Cloud went with the gut feeling he had and accepted it. The country they were at was off the map, however. Even though it was close to Wutai, even Yuffie had never heard of the place. Just what kind of place was this? Marlene was the last up the cliff as Cid pulled her up.

Cloud looked through the rain, his vision obstructed slightly from his bangs sinking down in front of his eyes. Over the distance were numerous spires that speared into the sky, attempting to reach the clouds. By that site, they had to have reached the city. Cloud flicked his fingers, signaling for his colleagues to follow him.

The city was slightly uphill from Cloud's position, though that was the only way to explain how it couldn't have been flooded with this so-called "eternal rain". There was no way in hell that such an abnormal weather pattern could occur. Then again, this torrential downpour made it seem possible. The gates came into view, great black bars of some mysterious metal. The drops bounced off the gate, splashing onto even more drops in some sort of eternal cycle.

"What's up with this place?" Rude wondered.

Indeed, for there was not a person in the streets, as though the place was abandoned. The buildings seemed to be made of the same material as the gates were and the rain made them seem extremely shiny and impossible to touch without slipping. Cloud stepped through the gates, warily looking to and fro as the streets were just a bit too quiet for his liking.

Cloud treaded slowly through the street, taking his steps carefully as he did so. One hand was ready to draw his Buster Sword on his back, the other ready to take the short sword from his belt. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. A flicker of some sort of fabric or cloth whipping around a corner caught Cloud's attention. Cloud went down the way he saw the object, signaling for everyone else to stay put.

Cloud bent his knees slightly, crouching to prepare to any sudden changes of any sort. He still slowly advanced, his eyes darting in a million directions every few seconds to assess his surroundings. He inched closer to the corner, his boots swishing the water everywhere. He reached the junction and looked in one direction, seeing nothing.

"Excuse me si-"

Cloud didn't even bother to think, he reacted. His hand was on his sword in a flash and he swung the blade in a wide arc, stopping the blade as its tip was almost touching a man's nose. The man stared down the weapon, looking at Cloud.

"Don't sneak up behind me again." Cloud warned "You're lucky that I didn't split you in two."

"Er, yes, of course." the man sweated nervously upon inspecting his umbrella, which now sported a huge gash in it.

Cloud placed his sword on his back once more. He looked down the street, then at the man. The man was old, about in his early-sixties by the look of him. His hair was gray and long, about shoulder length and his eyes were black. He was dressed in a simple black suit, making him look like a butler.

"You see someone?" Cloud asked.

"Pardon?"

"I thought I saw someone, that's why I drew my sword on you."

"Er, no sir."

Cloud looked down the street again. He had to have seen something, he knew he had. Then again, he was still prone to schizophrenia even after a decade.

"Might I ask what you need, sir?" asked the man.

"I'm on a job for the town leader."

"Oh, what a coincidence, I take it you're Mr. Strife?"

"Yeah, why?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"I was sent to find you, as you were late."

"Alright, I'll go get my pals."

Cloud walked down the street, this time at a steady pace towards the gates. He didn't want to waste time, so he just signaled with his hand to have them follow. The man had followed Cloud, looking at the group.

"Well, they all look rather seasoned." he commented.

"No shit, old-timer." Cid said.

"I would offer to use my umbrella, but there are far too many of you."

"Shit, it ain't no big deal. 'Sides, I'm soaked through anyway."

"Sir, um, er." Cloud stuttered.

"Ami." said the man.

"Ami, just guide us to your master."

"Yes, of course."

Ami led Cloud's group down the street, the rain soaking them through. Cid looked everywhere, still not seeing a single soul. What the fuck was up with this place? Was it abandoned or something?

"Hey, old man." Cid asked.

"Yes, Mr….?"

"Cid, where exactly did everyone vamoose to?"

"They're in their homes." Ami turned away from the main street, going to one filled with shops.

Vincent took note of the lack of people he saw through windows even. Fear, he smelled it in every home as clearly as the stench of a rotting corpse. This was a severe fear, like seeing a murder.

"Is there a high suicide rate here?" Vincent asked Ami.

"Yes, every one out of twenty-five people take their own life. I'm afraid it would be quite easy to get away with murder here."

"Thought so, rain always deteriorates happiness."

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Cloud was listening, taking in information that Ami was divulging onto the others. However, Ami had to cut everyone short and say that his boss would explain more when things were necessary. Cloud just looked at the rain as it fell hypnotically onto the ground and created a dense, dull roar. Cloud smelled salt just then, recognizing it as the smell of the sea. He turned his head, viewing the iron-gray waters that bucked and reeled, though not splashing onto walkway that Ami was leading him up.

Cloud took notice of something out in the ocean, something dark and going into the sky like some monolith. It was an island no less than twenty miles long and it seemed to have quite a few buildings on it. Cloud squinted, trying to get a better view of the place but to no avail. Then he turned to Ami.

"Hey, what's that?" Cloud asked the older man.

Ami adjusted the round-framed glasses he had on, looking at what Cloud was pointing to.

"Um, I…that's not something I can tell you right now." Ami stuttered and moved up the walkway again.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, looking at the island before continuing walking.

The group stepped through the gates of a rather large mansion, so large that it looked like you could fit an entire town onto its grounds. Cloud examined the house, taking in the extravagance of it. Ami opened the door at the front, inviting everyone inside.

The main entrance hall was well lit from the luminescence coming from a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The architecture was rather extravagant, abstract if you will. However, no one seemed to notice as they were pre-occupied because of the state of wetness they were. Cloud's hair was flattened to his head, its spikes limp now. Nanaki solved his problem in a second, shaking vigorously and spraying everyone with the discarded liquid.

"Ah!" Reno got his arms up reflexively "Do you gotta do dat?"

"It was the quickest way for me to get dry."

"Er, I'll have some robes brought down. However, Mr. Strife…"

"Hm?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Follow me."

Cloud peeled off his jacket, throwing it to Vincent who caught it deftly before following Ami up a flight of stairs. Cloud inspected the hallway, seeing how it seemed to revel in old-world art, that of the era long before mako was heard of or robots were invented. Just who the hell was this guy anyway?

Cloud examined a couple paintings in the hall, seeing that they were of…avant-garde nature. They were of hangings and gruesome battles. Cloud didn't flinch, though he began to wonder what exactly his client did in his free time.

"Please wait here, sir." Ami said.

Cloud stood in the hall whilst Ami did whatever. One of the paintings caught his eye. This one was one of the few that weren't perverse. It was just a cathedral with strange markings all over it. However, those markings began to twist and contort, making some sort of literate message. The markings bounded at Cloud, conveying the message.

_…and so when the City of Shade is ready, one shall go a separate path and show them that the truth always has…_

The rest disappeared around a corner making it impossible to read any further. Cloud shook his head, rationalizing that there was no way he could have read that. Cloud reached into his pocket, taking out a jar and removing a couple of pills from it. He swallowed them dry and closed his eyes to get his bearings.

Those were pills for his schizophrenia. Even though a decade had passed, Cloud occasionally had violent episodes where he couldn't tell reality from fantasy. Tifa could snap him out of it, but she wasn't here due to her charge. Cloud leaned against the wall, his forehead resting on his arm and his breathing slow and heavy.

"_Where sins are cleansed and souls are pure,_" said a baritone voice in a sing-song manner "_the Shade is clear and Saints are seen._"

Cloud looked in the direction of the voice, seeing someone sitting on a chair in the hall. In their hand was a rosary, their thumb pushing beads every so often, slowly and methodically. Pale fingers gripped the beads loosely, the rosary threatening to drop from them. Cloud looked closely at the figure, its thin build radiating elegance and power. Though Cloud couldn't see them, he felt eyes looking at him from beneath the hood it wore.

The cross on the rosary was of a strange design, an x replacing the usual horizontal arms and with spade-shaped ends on it. And the cross…was as red as blood and inverted as well. It twirled in the hall, the low light reflecting off of it and catching Cloud's eyes.

"You carry no sins, so why do you look for redemption?" asked the voice.

"Like you would understand."

"Wait…ah, yes, I see now." the eyes were on Cloud again "Tell me, my son, tell me the reason she ran."

Cloud caught a glimpse of something under the hood, something glowing. Cloud reeled back, grabbing his head upon feeling some kind of splitting sensation in his skull. He remembered something he didn't want to, something of white and of flowers.

_"I love you."_

Cloud looked again, seeing nothing. His expression turned to an annoyed frown and he popped another pill.

"I thought I was over this shit." he mumbled to himself.

CLICK

The door Ami entered earlier opened, the old man showing up.

"Master Bethuel will see you now." he said.

Cloud nodded, taking one last look down the hall before he vanished through the doorway. About damn time, he thought as he strolled through the hall, examining even more of the client's odd collection of paintings. The guy had weird taste that was for sure. Ami opened the door, showing a rather extravagant bedroom. At the other side was a man in a chair on a veranda, looking over the horizon.

"I take it you're Strife?" the man asked without looking, his voice a tenor.

"Yes, I'm Cloud Strife."

"Have a seat next to me." the man motioned to the chair next to him.

Cloud took his sword off his back, setting it down gently on the floor as not to damage anything. His heavy boots made the wooden floorboards groan as he walked over them, eventually taking a seat next to his client and examining him.

Bethuel was a man a bit older than Cloud, about mid-thirties, with a neatly trimmed goatee coming to almost a point with a mustache. His eyes were dark gray, almost black, and his hair was short and dirty blonde. He was of thin build and slightly taller than Cloud, about two inches. His clothes consisted of a freshly pressed, black suit and a blue silk tie. He radiated an aura of aristocracy, of elegance.

Bethuel looked at Cloud, examining him.

"I thought you'd be…taller." he said almost humorously.

"I get that a lot, though most people don't know about me."

"Yes, to save the world and not be known, what a crime."

"Hey, at least I don't have all those annoying social problems."

"True."

Bethuel then noticed a golden band around Cloud's finger.

"You're married?" Bethuel asked.

"Yes, for five years now."

"Well, she must be very special."

"…She is."

Bethuel stood, grabbing a pair of binoculars he had.

"I think I should get to my reason for hiring you."

"That would be appreciated."

Bethuel approached the guard rail which was above the ocean some hundred feet. Bethuel handed Cloud the binoculars.

"Look at that island."

Cloud did so, looking at the location through the binoculars. He was looking at the city he viewed earlier from the walkway, though he got a closer look this time. The city was of a black material like the place he was in now, except this stuff seemed to suck in all the light like a black hole. Then there was the gigantic structure in the middle standing like a giant spike. The entire place gave him the chills.

"Lea Monde." Bethuel said "That is the name of the city."

"Lea Monde?"

"Yes, we don't know where it came from or what lies within it, but it's something evil. We call it the Dark."

Cloud leaned against the guard rail, looking at Bethuel.

"Just what exactly is in there?" Cloud demanded.

"Lea Monde is a city that few know about, but whoever has heard of it has attempted quite a few things."

"I suppose it has quite a few treasures?"

"Indeed, the thieves eventually add to the hordes in its halls and alleys."

"Wait, undead are in there?"

"Yes, from what I've heard from the police."

Cloud messed with his hair, the spikes stiffening and standing erect on their own.

"This sounds messed up, though I guess whatever they do, you don't want me to do." he said.

"No, something is going on inside Lea Monde. It began about three months ago."

"Must be a pretty big "something"."

"It is."

Bethuel went into the house again, holding his hands behind his back. He stroked his chin with his hand after a moment.

"The suicide rate has gotten higher." he explained "People are afraid to leave their homes and I think it has something to do with the ancient power coming from the ruins."

"I'll look into it."

XXXXX

"…and that's the whole thing." Cloud ended his speech to everyone after dinner.

Reno lit a cig, breathing in and then blowing out a ring.

"Whatta crock o' shit." he said "Sound like da guy had a few too many."

"I'm with the kid, it's fuckin' fishy if ya ask me." Cid agreed.

"Look, I know it sounds fishy," Cloud paced around the room "but that thing in my gut happened."

"The bad one or the good one?" Rude asked.

"The bad one, the where it feels like someone dropped a hundred eels into my gut."

Vincent got up from where he was sitting, his bandanna off as well as his scarf.

"What are the figures?" he asked Cloud.

"Bethuel said about five-million apiece."

"Okay, my opinion just changed." Reno quipped.

"Weakling." Vincent commented before turning his gaze to Cloud "I'm going along since I know you're going no matter what. After all, I have to watch your ass for Tifa."

Cloud looked at everyone else, looking for their opinion. Yuffie was on the couch having dozed off several minutes ago. Nanaki was sitting down, his eye closed and contemplating the situation.

"There's something here that disturbs me, so I'm going along." he said.

"I'll go, too." Rude flexed his knuckles.

"Shit, might as fucking well." Cid also agreed.

Marlene was in the same situation as Yuffie: passed out and asleep on a chair in a rather interesting posture. Cloud just sighed, still mystified by the workings of young people's minds. He walked towards the door, turning the knob and exiting.

"We leave at nine, be punctual."

XXXXX

The rain seemed even heavier at night, the muteness of the dark making the drops seem louder. However, the noise was muffled from being underground as the earth destroyed such noise. Lea Monde was a city that was abandoned…but by no means was it uninhabited. The force that Bethuel called the Dark was the force that somehow kept the city strong and powerful.

Many people had tried to get into the labyrinthine chambers only to meet their doom and become part of the population that was amongst the damned. Most people couldn't get much farther than the only entrance which was a mine shaft due to the pathway by sea being a lethal gauntlet of whirlpools. Even seasoned warriors didn't stand much of a chance in the hellish place.

However, one person went through the place as though it were a village square. Black robes swished on the dirt, sending stones flicking every which way. Bodies creaked and moaned, sockets with their eyes eaten out looked as a hooded figure pushed beads on a rosary.

The figure was silent, not even its footsteps could be heard. Creatures of various sorts examined it, though not a one dared to make a move towards it. The figure approached a collapsed tunnel, but that was soon solved as a gigantic boulder was suddenly frozen, a slash going downward in a diagonal manner. The next blow, which was in a manner of a thrust, reduced the ice to water and the figure passed through.

The figure blinked, bittersweet eyes examining the ruins. The figure chuckled, the only thing hearing it being the damned inhabitants of Lea Monde. The figure thought, thinking how it was ironic that such a thing that would come would happen here, a place hardly anyone in the world knew and a cursed one at that. This was going to be interesting.

XXXXX

Cloud was still up around midnight, looking out a window. His shirt was unzipped, revealing his torso. He just stared at the rain which had let up, though it still came. His sword was on the floor as well as the Hrunting.

"Can't sleep?" asked a voice from the doorway.

Cloud turned his head, seeing the lithe figure of Vincent leaning against the doorway, his blood-red eyes glowing like lamps in the dim light and his pale neck standing out like a sign. The older man approached, his permanent glare still etched on his face. Cloud resumed looking at the rain, the drops splashing onto the veranda outside. Vincent came up behind Cloud, his reflection apparent on the window's glass. Cloud looked not at Vincent, but at his reflection's eyes.

"Is it about her?" Vincent asked.

"Tifa?"

"Yes, you haven't said a thing about her."

"Tch, nothing's wrong." Cloud stood up, attempting to walk away, though Vincent grabbed his arm with his strong hand.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"So freaking what?" Cloud shrugged off the hand, going out of the room and into the hall.

Vincent rested his elbow against the bedpost, examining Cloud as he left.

"He hasn't changed a damn bit."

Cloud walked about halfway down the hall when he stopped, fishing in his pocket to take something out. His fingers felt something hard and sleek inside and he pulled it out. A PHS was in his hand now, its surface silver with some black on it. Cloud flipped it open and was about to dial a number when his thumb stopped.

Hesitation, it was something that happened to almost everyone. Of course, a person's decision was already made they second they hesitated. Cloud closed the PHS and slipped it back into his pocket. He leaned more heavily against the wall, sighing just as deeply.

"Shit."

XXXXX

Cloud opened his eyes, seeing a beautiful site next to him. Tifa was still asleep, her wine-colored eyes closed and her hair splayed everywhere on the bed. Cloud propped himself up on his elbow, looking at his new wife. He brushed a strand of her hair away, the long strand tickling her cheek and eliciting a moan from her.

Tifa's eyes opened, red meeting blue. She craned her neck up, kissing Cloud on the lips.

"Mornin'." she grumbled.

"You look tired."

"Only 'cuz you kept me up all night."

"Like you didn't enjoy it."

"Ass."

Tifa got up, the sheet covering her nude figure as she did so. Cloud draped an arm over Tifa's shoulders and then buried his face in the crook of her neck, taking in her scent.

"Hey, I'm still sore, so wait." Tifa protested.

"Heh, and to think you're supposed to be a martial-artist."

"Asshole."

XXXXX

A loud knocking woke Cloud from his slumber. He fell of the bed, taking the sheets with him as he did so. He cursed out loud whilst disentangling his legs from the sheets, more than likely making the person on the other side of the door blush.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Take one goddamned guess." said Cid's voice.

"Lemme get dressed."

"Woo! Cloud butt-naked!" yelled Yuffie's voice.

"Not half as interestin' as you nekkid, sweet-cheeks." said a snickering Reno.

"Perv."

SLAP! SHMACK! THUD!

_"Don't wanna know." _Cloud thought.

Cloud finished putting on his clothes and gear and exited the room, seeing Cid laughing, Yuffie fuming as she stomped off, and Reno on the ground.

"You severely need to stop hitting on her." Cloud chided to Reno.

"Hey, my hand moves on its own ta tap dat ass."

"Get up off the damn floor and get downstairs."

Reno did so without any argument, though he did complain about how strong Yuffie was for some skinny tomboy with a hot body. Everyone was downstairs, Vincent leaning on the wall and Marlene on the floor with her gun by her side.

"Carriages are outside." Vincent muttered.

"Get comfortable because it's a two hour ride to the entrance."

Cloud got into the first carriage with Vincent, Cid, and Nanaki. Vincent shut the door as they entered, the sound being muffled by the wooden doors. However, the small windows didn't exactly make it easy to see.

"Who turned off the friggin' lights?" Cid wondered.

"Just bear it for now and if you try to smoke I'll hit you." Cloud warned.

"Are you tryin' ta kill me?"

Nanaki curled up on the floor, closing his eye and dozing off. Cid shrugged his shoulders and decided to follow suit, closing his eyes and slumping. Vincent crossed his legs and looked out the thin window with his chin propped on his hand. Cloud just looked at nothing, his eyes vacant.

Vincent just looked westward at the island they would have to go to. Of course, he knew what going in there meant. Vincent looked at Cloud out of the corner of his eye, the blonde not seeing him. Vincent sighed, blinking his eyes as he did so.

_"I hope he's right about this."_

XXXXX

The other carriage wasn't as mute because of its occupants. Yuffie kept her eyes open at all times because of Reno who was also being watched by Marlene. The red-head just slouched, a cigarette butt in his mouth. Rude was tapping his fingers against his leg, contemplating.

"Whaddya tink 'bout 'dis whole ting?" Reno asked Rude.

"It's weird, but at least it'll get us paid."

"Hey, I saw a whole lotta weird ten years ago." Yuffie argued.

"Yes, yes, but abnormal occurrences like that haven't been seen since then."

"Only 'cuz you people haven't been messing with the Planet."

Marlene looked at the city from her window.

"It's…creepy." she said.

"What is?" Reno asked.

"That city, it's like looking into a dead man's skull."

"Shit, neva 'spected youse ta say dat."

"Yeah, I got a bad feeling."

XXXXX

The rides were uneventful, not a single thing happening the entire time. However, what happened when they arrived was interesting indeed. Bethuel said that they would be met by police, but not a one was there.

"Dey betta not be out fa fuckin' donuts." Reno said, rolling up his sleeves.

"Hey, like you didn't slack off." Rude argued.

"No one did it betta dan me!"

Cloud got out of the carriage, looking at the station. Chocobos were still outside eating grain so they couldn't have gone far if they left, but it didn't look like anyone was inside either. Cloud fiddled with the doorknob, seeing that it was unlocked. This was odd, very odd indeed.

That is until the smell hit Cloud's nose. He reacted immediately, covering his face and drawing Hrunting from his hip. Cloud knew that stench: it was the smell of rotting flesh and blood. He held Hrunting in a backhanded manner, taking his steps slowly. The stench was getting stronger as Cloud went further in, decay and flies running rampant.

Cloud saw two bodies slumped on the floor, both having taken strikes from blades. Blood pooled in a huge puddle, looking almost black and starting to solidify. Cloud put Hrunting away and examined the bodies a bit more thoroughly. The wounds were all aimed at vital points so there was no way someone could have survived such a blow.

Cloud picked up one of the swords left on the ground, examining it. It was a rapier and the blade was completely covered in blood.

"So, they killed each other." Nanaki's voice said.

"Yeah." Cloud discarded the rapier.

Nanaki sniffed the air, his eye in deep thought.

"Something wrong?" Cloud asked.

"Someone else was here, but…."

"What?"

"Nothing, I'll go tell everyone what's going on."

Nanaki walked out, causing Cloud to raise an eyebrow at his behavior. Cloud stood, looking for a phone, but not before he swallowed another pill.

"Fucking hell."

Cloud hadn't even gone into the city yet and weird things were already happening. More things like this and he'd be addicted to drugs. Cloud grabbed a receiver off the wall and dialed Bethuel's number into it. The phone rang twice and then someone picked up.

"Hello?" asked Bethuel's voice.

"It's Cloud."

"Oh, I suppose you're not inside yet."

"Well a couple of your guys getting killed tend to derail plans."

"What?" Cloud heard the sound of wood scraping on the floor.

"Yeah, looks like they killed each other."

"Odd, they had no problems on their psychological evaluations."

Cloud looked at the bodies from where he stood, looking at them. He looked at their faces now, seeing how they seemed to be contorted in horror, not anger. Alright, now he was convinced.

"I'll have to go now."

"I'll have some of my men examine the bodies. Be careful."

"I will."

Cloud hung up the phone, going outside the moment he did. Rain assaulted him immediately and soaked his clothes again. Vincent stood under an awning to keep from getting soaked. Cloud approached him.

"I suppose that oddities are already happening." Vincent stated.

"No shit."

A roar decided to come from out of the entrance. The sound was loud and deep, rumbling out of the bowels of the earth. Cloud tested the heft of his sword

"Da hell wazzat!" Reno exclaimed.

"Never heard something like that before." Cid threw away his damp cigarette butt.

"Let's go." Cloud twirled his sword and then shouldered it while going into the mine shaft.

Marlene went next, Nanaki as well. Reno spat before tapping his rod into a puddle, the current sparking through it. Rude followed him in a moment after flexing his knuckles. Cid went in with Yuffie, leaving Vincent behind.

Vincent looked as the rain fell to the earth, soaking his clothes. The drops dripped off the huge gun he held, trickling down the barrel. He sighed.

"Alright."

And he followed at last.

XXXXX

Bethuel made a different call once Cloud had hung up, one to a place only Bethuel knew of. He had to have insurance in case something happened and his was very…effective. The phone was picked up immediately and a voice answered.

"What is it, Bethuel?" asked a stoic voice.

"Grissom, your dogs are dead."

"Is that so? Interesting."

"Dead by their own hands, as though they killed each other."

"How fascinating. It seems the Dark is powerful indeed."

"No, someone, not something." Bethuel looked for something in his desk.

"Do you believe that someone has been able to tame it?"

"I don't know, perhaps."

"In any case, is anything else up?"

"Yes, I want you to go into the city and make sure the people I hired don't do anything stupid."

"Give me an hour."

The phone at the other end hung up, Bethuel doing the same after a moment. He finally found what he was looking for, getting a rosary out of the desk. He examined the odd, six-pointed cross on the rosary. He grinned.

"Bloody Cross."

XXXXX

Cloud was a bit surprised at the lack of inhabitants in the city, like it was a tomb. The City of Ancients as well as the Temple had been empty, but Lea Monde was ten times as creepy for some reason.

" I wonda who keeps da candles lit?" Reno said.

"Good question." Vincent replied.

Somehow the torches and candles had been kept lit despite no one living inside of it. It wasn't like the undead would care how dark something was, so why the hell was is so light in here? A rumbling occurred, which caused Cloud to ready his sword. However, Vincent made him lower his blade.

"There are odd geological activities here." he explained "That was just one of them."

"How'd you know?" Cid asked.

"…Bethuel told me."

Cloud raised an eyebrow as Vincent examined a door, cracking it open to see if anything was around. Odd, Bethuel never said anything about earthquakes around here. Had Vincent been to Lea Monde before somehow?

Vincent wagged his fingers, signaling that it was okay to move. He opened the door to let everyone in, each going one at a time. They came into a large room with a high ceiling and a lot of mining carts. Cloud examined them, pulling out a chunk of ore. The metal was odd, gold in color, but as light as a feather.

"Never seen this before." he commented.

"Throw it over here." Cid said.

Cloud tossed the alloy over to Cid who caught it deftly and then examined it under a torch. Cid's seasoned eyes looked carefully at it, taking in its texture. After a moment, his eyes widened and his cigarette dropped out of his gaping mouth.

"Are we in a fucking time warp?" he yelled.

"Thanks fer makin' me deaf, ya geeza!" Reno unplugged his ears.

"Orhicalcum, right?" Vincent said.

"Da fuck izzat?"

Cid gave the alloy to Vincent, who caught it in his claw. He looked at the strange rock.

"I haven't seen this since I was a Turk." he explained "This is the strongest alloy in the world, but it vanished when Shin-Ra was just getting started."

"What happened?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, the amount that could be refined was actually very little, about a few tons, so there was no way it would last. After awhile the ratio of ore was too low and they gave up."

"Then why is there this huge vein here?" Rude asked.

"No clue."

Vincent dropped the hunk of Orichalcum, the floor changing shape upon impact. Vincent began to walk up a ramp and everyone else followed. However, Cloud was the last to go, as he began to wonder a bit about Vincent. That cold feeling happened to his gut again on cue, warning him about something.

Cloud took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to get rid of his anxiety. He moved after a moment, putting his sword on his back. A pair of eyes watched him go deeper into the ruins.

The eyes belonged to a rather beautiful woman. Her long hair was as a black as a raven's wings with some strands of it braided. Her eyes were a rare shade, grape-purple, and shaped like almonds with long lashes framing them. Her figure was curved, over-accented even, though her bust wasn't of exceptional notice. Her alabaster skin was bronzed in the light, ethereal and haunting.

She tilted her head and swayed her hips a bit, high-heeled shoes clacking on rock and the long skirt she wore swishing to send dust everywhere. The skirt split at the thigh, revealing a pair of tight, gray leggings and some exceptionally good legs. Her midriff was exposed because of the short shirt that only covered her bosom and her arms were covered by a pair of gloves that went to her bicep.

The woman placed her hand on her face and contemplated Cloud.

"So, he's the one that he was talking about?" she said "He tears himself apart."

"We all have, that's why he's wanted." responded an older, male voice.

"Aye, but this one has no sins, he merely thinks he does."

"Is that not a sin in itself?"

"Hmm, sin against the self, I suppose it is."

"They've not a notion what happens here."

"No, they don't."

The woman turned on a thin heel, quite literally vanishing into the walls of the city.

XXXXX

Cloud stopped for a moment, looking back at the halls.

"Something wrong?" Nanaki asked.

"Thought I heard something."

Cloud looked back at the hall, almost positive that he had heard something. He decided to take another pill, positive that he was an addict by this point.

Yuffie jumped over an underground stream in a single bound, showing off her athletic abilities. Marlene just hopped over a few rocks to get to the other side as well as Rude and Reno. Cloud was the last one over as the rumbling occurred and decided to shake the entire room they were in. Cloud sunk his sword into the ground for support.

The rumbling stopped after a moment, though the price paid was the only exit being caved-in by some rather large boulders. Reno fumed for a bit, swearing whilst pacing around the room. Vincent tapped the boulders with his claw.

"Tch, more of that damned ore." he cursed "You'd have a better chance of cutting down a bloody tree with a toothpick then smashing through this."

"What about magic?" Marlene asked.

"Orichalcum absorbs magic, so it's no use."

Cloud looked down one path whilst everyone was talking, his mind wandering. Down the tunnel was a figure clad in a black robe that Cloud had seen the night before. The figure turned around upon Cloud seeing it and tread further down the dark tunnel. Cloud's feet compelled him to move and he did. However, his mind was so intent that he didn't hear a door shut behind him and lock itself.

Cid was the first to notice despite being preoccupied with finding a solution to get the fuck out of the place later.

"Eh? What the hell happened?" he slammed on the door, trying to get it open, but to no avail.

"Something wrong?" Vincent asked calmly.

"Spiky went through this door, I swear he did."

Vincent, oddly enough, cocked his gun.

"So, it begins." he said.

"Eh?"

Cid didn't expect what happened next in the slightest. Vincent slammed the handle of his gun into Cid's gut, knocking the wind out of him, and then on the back of his head to knock him out.

No one hesitated as the second blow struck Cid and readied their weapons. Marlene had her gun out and aimed it right at Vincent's heart while Yuffie withdrew a few shuriken from her belt and readied them. Everyone else was ready to reduce him to just about anything with spells.

"Mind explaining yourself?" Rude asked.

"Sorry, but this is something I must do."

"Anyway to persuade you?" Marlene inquired.

"Kill me." Vincent said with a sideways glance.

Marlene knew that Vincent never went back on what he said no matter what, so she just pulled the trigger of her gun and fired off several rounds. Vincent made no effort to move despite knowing that the shells were coming towards his heart. However, the rounds stopped a mere inch from his chest and then just hung in the air. Vincent tapped one with his claw, causing it to fall to the ground.

"Th' fuck…?" Reno wondered.

"Just stand down if you don't want to get hurt." Vincent warned.

"Ta hell whit'cha!"

Reno raised his rod at Vincent and went to swing it at his arm, but then stopped as he went back to prepare the blow. Reno wondered what was happening, but the fact of the matter was that he couldn't move.

"Well, this is interesting." Vincent said in a cynical manner.

"Th' hell didja do?"

"Not me, them."

Reno was knocked off his feet and blown into the small stream after skidding some fifteen feet. Nanaki leapt at Vincent with his fangs bared, but suffered the same blow as Reno and struck the ceiling. Rude just managed to turn his head as something struck him, something cold and hard. A fist struck him next and sent him flying. Yuffie and Marlene were next as the figure that knocked out Rude swept its hand and knocked them off their feet.

"Well, the Dark is quite the source for power, isn't it?" Vincent asked the figure.

"Aye, but it comes at a price."

The figure removed the hood it wore and revealed a man's face of about late-twenties. His skin was slightly tanned and weathered. His hair was an odd honey color and had a massive, lightning-bolt shaped spike jutting from it. His eyes were of the same shade and had a bored, or perhaps stoic, expression on them. His build was well-toned and he was slightly taller than Vincent. His clothes were plain, consisting of nothing more than a pair of pants, a long coat going to his ankles, gloves, and boots that were all made of black leather. He had something large, about his width and exceeding his height, wrapped in a black cloth with a long handle coming out of it.

The man stepped away from Rude and walked towards Vincent.

"Held out your arm, the left one." he said.

Vincent did as he was told and offered the armor-clad limb to the man. Gloved fingers pressed something on the arm and compressed air shot out. Bronze plates fell off and loudly clanged onto the ground. Vincent looked at his arm and flexed freshly freed fingers, hearing the joints pop. The skin was pale, though that was no surprise, but the blood-red, six-pointed cross on the forearm was something else. Vincent just looked at it without batting an eye.

"It's not inverted." the other man said.

"And what of it, Ashley?"

"Ye aren't of his power, but ye can follow us from now on."

Vincent looked at his downed, former companions.

"He better be right about this." he mumbled.

"Right? Why should people care about being right, wrong, better, or worse?" said a new voice.

Vincent eyed another man leaning against a wall. This one was less dressed than the other, his attire also being black leather, but of a pair of pants with boots attached, a black wrap around his waist, and a shirt that only covered his chest. His hair was a bright blond and went to his shoulders. His eyes were the deepest blue that Vincent had ever seen, as deep as the twilight sky.

Strangely enough he bore no weapon, at least none from what Vincent saw. His arms were armored in grey metal, the fingers of them ended in jagged, seemingly cumbersome claws. All around the armor were runes in a strange language, though Vincent knew what they meant.

"You're late, Sydney." Ashley said.

"Late, early, no one ever gets to a place exactly when they plan."

"Where's Hardin? He's usually with you."

"He'll be along shortly. Ms. Merlose wanted to attend to a few things and we have to be in pairs to keep the Cold Ones from attacking us."

"What is Cal doing with Hardin?"

"Jealous?" Sydney raised an eyebrow coyly.

"Bah, she was my subordinate, nothing more."

"Heh."

Sydney examined Vincent from head to toe and Vincent did the same with him. Vincent caught a glimpse of something on Sydney's back that disappeared under his shirt and he knew quite well what it was.

"Vincent Valentine," Sydney began "former Turk from thirty-five years ago, one of the best even. Disappeared upon the completion of unknown tests in Nibelheim and was thought to have committed suicide." the man looked at Sydney "Anything I miss?"

"No, Sydney Losstarot. You were the leader of the Mullenkamp cult eight years ago and your fortunes actually rang true. You vanished one night when every cultist was slain and you vanished with your associate, John Hardin."

"Very good." Sydney looked at Ashley and jerked his thumb towards him "You don't know who he is, though."

Vincent examined the man.

"No, should I?" he asked.

"Ye'll learn in due time." Ashley answered "Let's move 'fore we're left behind."

Ashley grabbed his large item and Sydney gestured for Vincent to move first. Vincent did so, vanishing into the walls of the mine with Ashley and Sydney following soon after.

XXXX

"The hell…?" Cloud finally caught on to things being too quiet and looked behind him to see no one.

Cloud examined the wall and noticed that no exit was around, as though the wall had sealed up. He cursed for a bit and attempted to smash through the wall, though all he had to show for it was a slightly chipped sword. Despite being frustrated, he decided that everyone would catch up with him at some point or another.

The city was already beginning to mystify him and he hadn't even stepped into it yet, quite odd. That feeling happened to his gut again, that cold feeling. Fucking anxiety, why the hell did this have to happen now?

_Cloud…_

He didn't hear that, he didn't hear that. Just the passing of air, that's all it was. Cloud rapped himself lightly on the skull to get his head straight since the last thing he needed was hallucinations in a place like this. He rubbed his temples lightly with one hand before advancing forward again.

Cloud saw that the tunnels were silent as always, which was completely unnerving. He at least expected some sort of creature, but not even that was around. The place was like a giant tomb. Disturbing, very disturbing.

Cloud examined the mines more, though the presence of pillars and rafters was making it seem less like a mine now. Cloud stopped for a moment, looking around for a bit. He always felt like eyes were on him. He moved forward, disregarding that feeling.

That roar echoed through the halls again and Cloud drew his sword on instinct and took in both hands as he went into his battle stance. That sound couldn't be any less than ten yards from him, so about another four rooms or so.

Cloud advanced slowly, sliding his feet along the ground. The roar echoed again like a challenge to him. He sped up a bit, going into a normal-paced yet cautious walk. He expected another roar, but this time he got a rumble this time that sent him to his knees.

Other side of the door, it had to be. Cloud just kicked the ancient, wooden gate open with a sound blow and ripped it right off its hinges. However, the site of a rather frightening beast made him think twice.

A bovine head with a rather impressive set of horns sat upon a rather large human torso that was attached to a pair of legs ending in hooves. A Minotaur stood in front of Cloud, a beast fifteen feet tall that carried a gigantic mace ending in a huge sphere. He was in a bit of shock. Then again something that should have been extinct standing in front of a person would shock anyone.

Cloud was forced to snap back to reality as the huge beast swung its mace at Cloud and forced him to dodge. The weapon, combined with the monster's power, obliterated part of the wall Cloud had been in front of and caused the rock to smash down onto the floor. Holy shit, that wall had Orichalcum in it.

Cloud rolled as the heavy mace swung down again and created a rather large crater in the ground. Cloud glanced at what might have been his grave for a moment before running again. The next blow came close to Cloud, but only because he allowed it so he could jump over the mace's thick shaft. Cloud took his window and slashed at the Minotaur's arm, though not even his sword could make a deep wound on such a body.

The beast grunted, air shooting out of its nostrils. The beast crouched low like it was ready to charge, the tips of its horns almost scraping the ground. Cloud leapt just as the thing lunged and basically made a huge section of rock reduce to dust and collapse an entire wall. Just what the hell could do something like that?

That second of contemplation was too long and as such, Cloud suffered the consequences. The Minotaur proved it could move swift and grabbed its mace, swinging it at high speed at Cloud. It was a glancing blow, though it still sent Cloud flying into a wall and then slamming into the ground. Cloud curled up and coughed a bit. Fuck that was one hell of a hit. Nothing was broken, but the force was still enough to stun a man of Cloud's physical abilities.

The Minotaur's heavy hoof stepped but a mere inch from Cloud's foot, causing the very ground to shake. Cloud looked up and watched as the heavy weapon swung down at him.

_Move, move, move, move, move! Get out of the damn way!_ Cloud's mind screeched.

Something clacked, like a stone against a rock.

_I'm not going to let you die, not here, not now._ said a voice.

CRACK!

Cloud reacted on instinct and reached his hand out to block the heavy mace of the Minotaur. However, neither of them expected the man to be able to stop such a massive weapon with one hand. Cloud raised his blade and swung it at the Minotaur. A massive burst exploded and ripped the haft of the mace in two as well as the Minotaur who turned into dust instantly. Cloud collapsed against the wall in a sitting position and just looked at the massive, broken mace on the ground being that his mind was too exhausted to think about what just happened.

CLOP

Heavy boots tread in the same room Cloud was in, slowly, methodically. Cloud swore he smelled something, like cigarette smoke. It was Cid, had to be since Reno smoked, but he didn't wear boots. Then again, Cid didn't walk like that, it was too elegant. Cloud saw heavy, black robes drop across his legs like a blanket and a pair of legs in front of him.

"So, what did you think of my masquerade as a man of the cloth?" asked a deep voice.

No way, it couldn't be him. The voice was familiar, but he hated cigarettes. Cloud knew he had to be losing his mind again. Cloud felt a bit of strength return to him, not enough to stand but enough to crane his neck upward. He did so quickly, but wished he hadn't as he saw an effeminate face framed by silver hair with a pair of jade eyes looking down at him whilst thin lips smoked from a _kiseru_ The man blew out a line, shooting smoke from his lips.

"It's been an eternity, Cloud."

Sephiroth, the madman himself was standing before Cloud. Despite his muscles being exhausted and not exactly sure if this was a hallucination or not, Cloud grabbed the handle of his sword and swung the heavy weapon in a downward slash at the taller man. His blade hit nothing and the tip of it was shoved into the ground by a booted foot.

"Hastily drawing a blade is one of the worst habits a man can have." Sephiroth shook his head.

"So is giving yourself cancer."

"Bah, I'm more resilient than that."

Cloud swung his sword upward despite the heavy pressure Sephiroth had on it and caused the man to do a back-flip, dropping the tobacco out of his pipe. Sephiroth frowned at his _kiseru_ and slipped it into an inside pocket he had in the long coat he wore. He tossed his head, silver hair flashing in the low light.

Sephiroth's manner of dress was different, far different from the humble black leather he used to wear. His coat was still black, but made of suede and going to his ankles with a vent up to his waist. His pants were brown suede and flared at the ends to accommodate the heavy, black, high-heeled boots he wore that were polished to a mirror-like sheen. His belt was dark brown and he had another loosely at it waist that had a pair of katana on it on the left side. Odd, where was his long sword?

Sephiroth wore no shirt on his torso, but had a vest instead. It seemed to be made of purple silk and glistened in the candlelight. Around Sephiroth's neck was the rosary Cloud saw earlier, the one with the strange, six-pointed cross. He wore no gloves, going bare-handed instead. His left ear had three ear-cuffs on it. His hair was also different, knee-length and in a braid starting about halfway down the length of it. Cloud examined the man, still wondering what was happening.

"You don't look surprised." Sephiroth smirked.

"Hell, when you can't tell the difference between reality and a dream you tend to get used to things like this."

"Ever had a fantasy of me?"

"No, not until now."

Sephiroth chuckled and blinked slowly.

"Reality, fantasy, men can make either the other as long as they will it to be so." he said, his eyes never leaving Cloud.

"The hell are you babbling about?"

"I'm real and I'm not dead."

"Prove it."

"How?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"By dying!"

Cloud charged despite his aching muscles only to have his strike sidestepped. Sephiroth pressed against Cloud's back, looking out of the corners of his eyes.

"You've the subtlety of a damned bull charging."

Cloud swung again but then Sephiroth seemed to vanish into thin air, making Cloud hit nothing. He felt a firm hand tap his neck, long nails just under his hair.

"I could've broken your neck just now." Sephiroth warned.

"Try getting your blade out instead."

Sephiroth just sighed and swept Cloud's legs out from under him. A split-second after Cloud hit the ground a boot slammed into his sword-arm and then the tip of a sword sheath pounded right next to his skull. Sephiroth stood over him as his mako eyes burned in the dark. Sephiroth tapped his fingers against the katana methodically.

"What are your, some damned brat?" he asked "You seem to only be able to strike out like a child."

Cloud had enough of Sephiroth's insulting and drew Hrunting from his belt to slash at the older man's leg. The latter noticed in time and managed to avoid the blow but then had the larger sword coming from above at him. Sephiroth decided to do what Cloud had told him earlier and drew his sword from its sheath. However, Cloud never expected to see a wall of fire appear once the blade was drawn.

The inferno let forth a gush of hot air so extreme that it sent Cloud hurtling and then tumbling on the ground. What the hell was that!? Since when did swords let loose goddamned blazes?

Sephiroth sheathed his blade and returned it to his belt. Cloud got up just as the older man leapt onto a ledge and looked down at him.

"Here is my game, Cloud, I run, you give chase." he said "I am the fox and you are the hound, so chase me."

"Screw you."

Cloud got his sword again, but then he felt it get blasted from his hand. He turned but then felt a bullet strike his shoulder and send him flying. Wait, he knew that sound.

"Vincent?" he growled.

"Yes, it's me." Copper-tipped boots tread on the ground.

"Are you out of your damn mind?"

"No, just making a decision."

Cloud looked at the crimson-eyed man.

"Is it because of Lucrecia?" Cloud demanded.

"Perhaps, but there are others."

"I swear I'll send you to he-!"

BASH!

Vincent didn't allow Cloud to finish his sentence as he shoved his foot into his gut, making him pass out instantly. Vincent sighed and leapt to Sephiroth's sigh, crimson meeting jade. Sephiroth smirked.

"Well, you can be quite nasty." he said.

"I don't need your damned quips. You're going to put quite a few people through hell."

"If they're in hell, it's because they brought it upon themselves."

Sephiroth looked upward and closed his eyes, listening to nothing.

"Ready?" he asked Vincent.

"Yeah."

The two men's feet left the ground and went upward like a pair of birds in the darkness.

XXXXX

Author's notes:……..Damn, that turned out weird. This is one of the few stories I'm doing without any sort of outline, so it's turning out bizarre and pretty haphazard. Since I can't access my other stories' data at the moment I decided I needed to do something for an artistic outlet. I've always wanted to do a story about a city where it's always raining (I've been doing a lot of rain scenes or thinking of them as of late. I'm starting to think I have an alternate personality that goes by the name of Tite Kubo) and this is what came up. Didn't exactly expect this to be a Vagrant Story cross over, but what the hell, might as well give it a shot. I expect chapters to be long but not the amount of chapters and for this story to be updated infrequently.

Characters:

Name: Cloud Strife

Weapon: First Tsurugi   
Main Blade: Excalibur  
Outer Edge: Caladblog  
Saw Edge One: Hrunting  
Saw Edge Two: Fragarach  
Switch Blade One: Balmung  
Switch Blade Two: Tyrfing

Birthplace: Nibelheim

Age: 31

Height: 5 ft 8 in

Blood type: AB

Break Arts (Limit Breaks): Braver, Cross Slash, Blade Beam, Climhazzard, Meteorain, Finishing Touch, Omnislash

Biography: The unsung hero of the battle against Sephiroth a decade ago. He married Tifa Lockheart not long after and is working as a mercenary. Though ten years have passed, his eyes still hold a glint of a man with guilt

Name: Nanaki

Weapon: Head-dress, claws

Birthplace: Cosmo Canyon

Age: 55

Height: 3 ft 9 in

Blood type: n/a

Break Arts: Sled Fang, Lunatic High, Blood Fang, Stardust Ray, Howling Moon, Earth Rave, Cosmo Memory

Biography: A mentor and spiritual guide for the younger members, Nanaki is a high-ranking elder in Cosmo Canyon. He has also been helping with the Planet's restoration.

Name: Cid Highwind

Weapon: Spear

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: 42

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Blood type: B

Break Arts: Boost Jump, Dynamite, Hyper Jump, Dragon, Dragon Dive, Big Brawl, Highwind

Biography: An engineering genius with a mouth like ten sailors. His wife Shera often chides him and covers their son, Michael's, ears quite a bit. He helps Cloud with his airship and is a damned good fighter.

Name: Yuffie Kisaragi

Weapon: Shuriken, kunai

Birthplace: Wutai

Age: 26

Height: 5 ft 7 in

Blood Type: A

Break Arts: Greased Lightning, Clear Tranquil, Landscaper, Bloodfest, Gauntlet, Doom of the Living, All Creation

Biography: A spunky, tomboyish ninja who is the heir to the Wutai dynasty and a master fighter. Her habits with materia haven't changed even though she's an adult now.

Name: Marlene Wallace

Weapon: Machine gun

Birthplace: North Corel

Age: 14

Height: 5 ft

Blood Type: O

Break Arts: Big Shot, Mind Blow, Grenade Bomb, Hammerblow, Satellite Beam, Ungermax, Catastrophe

Biography: Barret's adopted daughter who's taken his place because of his retirement. Her machine gun is actually modified from Barret's own arm.

Name: Reno

Weapon: Shock Rod

Birthplace: Slums

Age: 30

Height: 5 ft 9 in

Blood Type: B

Break Arts: Bitch-slap, Skull Blast, Lightning Rod, Stick it Where the Sun Don't Shine, Scuffle, Blast, Pyramid

Biography: A former Turk who works alongside Cloud at times to earn his keep. His perverse attitude, swearing, and accent make him a mascot character.

Name: Rude

Weapon: Fists

Birthplace: Upper plate

Age: 34

Height: 5 ft 11 in

Blood Type: AB

Break Arts: Bum Rush, Flip Kick, Crescent Moon, Back Breaker, Rising Dragon, Geronimo, Rumble Earth

Biography: Reno's partner and the mature of the two who's a master at boxing and has learned a few tricks from Tifa. He's quite stoic and looks after the younger people

Name: Sydney Losstarot

Weapon: Unkown

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Blood Type: A

Break Arts: Unknown

Biography: The former leader of a fanatical cult who has suddenly appeared in Lea Monde and is assisting Vincent.

Name: Ashley

Weapon: Unknown

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Height: 6 ft 1 in

Blood Type: A

Break Arts: Unknown

Biography: A mysterious man who seems to have some sort of power over Lea Monde and is also assisting Vincent. His accent dictates he's from somewhere not of the main continent, but his other information is completely unknown.

Name: Vincent Valentine

Weapon: Gun

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: 62 (looks 27)

Height: 6 ft

Blood Type: A

Break Arts; Galian Beast, Death Gigas, Hell Masker, Chaos

Biography: The oldest of the group in terms of chronological age and the only man who knew Sephiroth's mother. He has seemingly betrayed Cloud, but for what purpose is unknown. He has a rood on his arm and seems to have powers similar to Ashley and Sydney inside Lea Monde

Name: Sephiroth

Weapons: Twin katana

Birthplace: Nibelheim

Age: 35 by Vincent's reckoning

Height: 6 ft 1 in

Blood Type: Unknown

Break Arts: Unknown

Biography: A man Cloud killed a decade ago and is alive once again. His infamous blade is gone and he now uses a pair of swords. He also displays odd powers and he seems to have become deadlier as a warrior.


	2. Shinkougatana

Author's notes: I think I've got something else now, so maybe these next few chapters will be good. Sephiroth is gonna be a bit weird. This is the first time I've ever written Sephiroth swearing before (btw, his fighting style is sort of modeled after how Dante in DMC3 used Agni and Rudra).

Ah-choo: Yes, Reno's accent was a device of my own invention. It's actually modeled after Touji's from the Eva manga

Taebi: What happened between Cloud and Tifa wasn't ten years ago, it's actually recent.

XXXXX

Season Two _Shinkougatana_(Crimson Blades)

Cloud sat in a chair in his house, reading a book. All he was wearing was a pair of blue jeans as he did so, his sapphire eyes gazing over the pages. Tifa wasn't at home, which was odd considering she stayed until she opened the bar under them. She never went anywhere without leaving him a note either.

"Cloud, you awake?" said a voice downstairs.

There she was.

"I'm upstairs." Cloud called to Tifa.

Feet without shoes on took the stairs one at a time in a rapid manner. Cloud smirked slightly. Tifa was a creature of habit, she always had been. The sultry brunette arrived at the second floor and threw her keys on an end-table. She drummed her fingers on Cloud's shoulder slowly to get his attention.

"What?" he asked.

"Usually you greet me at the door."

"Well, you usually don't go somewhere without telling me." Cloud took hold of Tifa's hand.

"Sorry, I went to the doctor."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, looking into Tifa's red pools. Tifa shed the brown duster jacket she kept on and draped it over a chair. She sat on the arm of the chair Cloud was in. Strangely, she took his hand and placed it over her belly.

"Teef?" he asked.

"Heh, you can't feel it."

"Uh, I've felt the scar plenty of times."

"No," Tifa shook her head "my life...and your life."

"My…?"

Cloud looked into Tifa's eyes again, searching. Tifa gave a message with her eyes and her husband understood it immediately. He lightly gripped Tifa's womb and then took a glance at her bust.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"You're gonna be huge in more ways than one soon."

"Jerk." she chuckled.

XXXXX

Cloud came back to reality really quickly, too quickly, so quickly that he felt he was going to pass out again from the severe pain in his gut and the splitting headache going through his skull. He felt dirt on his back and heard voices around him.

Cloud's eyes opened as he forced himself to stay conscious and saw his comrades all around. He had expected them to come sooner, though how much time had elapsed was lost to him. Cloud grunted as he sat up and clutched his gut which Vincent had so cruelly kicked some time ago.

"Hey, it's alive." Yuffie said jokingly.

"And very pissed off."

Cloud stood for a moment and then found that he was leaning against the wall from his injuries. Apparently he had forgotten his shoulder and now it came rushing back at him with the intensity of a freight train.

_Well I guess I really wasn't imagining things if I've got a bullet in my arm_ he thought

Marlene brushed her thumb over the hole, causing Cloud to clench his teeth.

"Damn, what got ya?" Cid asked.

"Vincent shot me."

Marlene forced Cloud to sit down and take his shirt off to examine his wounds. His abdomen was covered in a huge black and purple bruise while his shoulder had a gunshot wound, but no exit. Marlene took out a pair of tweezers and dug them into Cloud's shoulder. Cloud grunted whilst closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as the tweezers dug into his wound.

Cloud showed pain when Marlene pulled the bullet out and dropped it on the ground. Cloud grabbed the bandage Marlene gave him and held it to his wound. Cid picked up the discarded bullet and examined it.

"First pretty-boy beats the shit outta us and then he shoots ya." he rolled the bullet between his thumb and index finger "Shit, why the hell?"

"While ya at it, ya mind explainin' da wreckin' ball here?" Reno and Rude were looking at the Minotaur's massive mace.

Marlene started healing Cloud's wounds starting at his shoulder.

"After I got separated from you I started down the hall." he started "Next thing I know is that a Minotaur is coming at me."

"A Minotaur?" Nanaki asked "They've been extinct for hundreds of years."

"Yeah, well I fought one and it nearly killed me."

"Thing musta been one helluva beast." Reno commented.

"It was over ten feet tall, easy."

Marlene started on Cloud abdomen.

"That still doesn't explain why Vincent shot ya." Yuffie quipped.

"He…intervened."

"In what?"

"I was fighting someone when he shot me."

"Who were ya fighting?" Cid was lighting up another cigarette.

"Se…Sephiroth."

Cid stopped in the middle of lighting his cigarette and the thing dropped from his mouth and fell to the ground. It took something really fucking shocking to make Cid do that since he never, ever wasted a cig. Cid let go of his lighter and continued staring at Cloud.

"Kid, what the fuck did you just say?" Cid almost whispered.

"He's back, somehow Sephiroth is alive and I fought him."

"Sheeeit, pop anuda one o' 'dem pills." Reno mocked.

"Hey, if there's a hole in my shoulder then that silver-haired demon is real. Besides, his clothes were different so that helps me to differentiate."

Cloud closed his shirt as Marlene finished treating him. He slipped on his jacket and retrieved his sword from its place on the ground. He twirled the heavy blade several times before putting it onto his back. The moment was lost, however, when he gripped his side.

"Easy boyo." Cid placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder.

"I think taking it easy just went out the goddamned window."

"He's right." Rude agreed "But why exactly would Vincent aid Sephiroth and why exactly is Sephiroth here?"

"Vincent knowing the guy's mother might be part of it, but why Sephiroth is here is just a plain mystery." Cloud sighed "But he said something about us hunting him."

"Great, another game of minds." Yuffie pouted.

"I guess."

XXXXX

Vincent keeled over as he was still getting used to the sensation of going in and out of walls and ceilings. Once gave him a certain tingling sensation, but six or seven had him suffering from a pain that felt like some kind of pressure squeezing his skull from the inside. Needless to say, he decided to rest a bit and sat on the stone floor, which caused his guide to stop.

"Still getting accustomed to it?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes."

"Give it a few hours, you'll get used to it."

Sephiroth leaned against a wall and lit his _kiseru_ which caused a bit of light in the dim hallway they were in. Vincent observed the smoke Sephiroth blew out of his mouth that rose to the ceiling.

"Lucrecia would slap you if she knew you were smoking." Vincent commented.

"Is that so? Well, I never inhale."

"Why'd you start?"

"For the hell of it."

Vincent observed Sephiroth as he blew out another cloud that obstructed the view of his face. Yeah, he was still the same as ten years ago. Tall, lean, elegant, and yet powerfully built. Kind of like how a cat could be sleek and yet powerful for its size.

His eyes were different though. Vincent remembered Sephiroth's eyes being flat, dead, and burning with an emerald fire of passion, hate, and lust. The eyes right now were different, vibrant, and alive with a sort of playful glint in them.

"You know, people might get ideas about you eyeing a man." Sephiroth crouched in front of Vincent.

"It's hard not to stare at you since you're entering your late thirties and still look like a damned, effeminate teenager."

Sephiroth chuckled deep in his chest and knocked the ash out of his _kiseru_ before standing up and heading down the hall again. Vincent followed reluctantly as the pressure on his skull hadn't ceased.

"I come from good stock." Sephiroth said out of the blue.

"What?"

"The reason I look far younger than I do is because I come from good stock."

"Lucrecia…was beautiful. You actually look a lot like her."

"Oh?"

"You have her eyes. Though yours are a bit lighter due to that mako conditioning Hojo did to you."

"Hmph."

The further the two went down the hall, the louder a strange sound became. It sounded like running water, but of great volume. Vincent felt a rush of cold, moist air that blew his hair back slightly as well as Sephiroth's braid.

Sephiroth stepped off the path onto a lower level, his boots clacking on stone. Vincent's ears pricked up from not being able to see due to the dark.

"Hmm, usually this isn't a problem for me, but since you're here I should do this." Sephiroth cursed.

The man pushed on his sword's _tsuba_ with his thumb and drew the blade from its sheath. The tunnel Vincent and Sephiroth were in was suddenly illuminated by the sword the latter was holding in his hand. The sword itself was not giving off any light, but the small inferno that was wrapped around it was.

"You used that on Cloud earlier." Vincent commented.

"Its name is _Shinhiryuujin_. This is a sacred sword that burns with the fire of a hundred dragons."

"A Wutainese name, is it a spoil of war?"

"No, I never stole from the samurai."

"Why is that?"

"They may have been fools too willing to die, but at least they had honor."

Sephiroth had to keep the sword to his side and close to the river as not to burn the person behind him. Vincent eyed the other blade Sephiroth had in his possession.

"What about the other sword you have?" Vincent asked.

"Its name will be given when I use it, so be patient."

Sephiroth held his sword to the side so it was directly over the river he walked next to. Vincent looked over the edge to see a fifteen-foot drop to white-water rapids below. It wouldn't exactly be pleasant if either he or Sephiroth fell into the raging waters below.

Sephiroth kept moving forward, not even taking a glance at scuttling shapes on the ceiling some five feet above him. The forms slinked and stalked Vincent and he as they progressed down the river. One of them came a bit too close to Vincent and Sephiroth gave them his form of a warning, which was his free hand straying to the katana at his side. Needless to say, the unknown creature retreated without a second thought.

The pair came to a rather decrepit door that looked about ready to come off its hinges. Sephiroth hastened the processed with a hefty kick with his boot, causing the door to fly and slam into a wall. Vincent rolled his eyes at Sephiroth as the silver-haired man sheathed his fiery blade.

A scratching sound came to the pair's ears and the younger of the two began strolling in the direction of the noise. It sounded like someone was grinding metal on stone.

"You're too damned noisy for your own good, Sydney." Sephiroth chuckled.

"One who walks around in boots noisy enough to alert a brigade shouldn't chide those who are spelling an incantation."

"Perhaps."

The scrawny man was on the floor of a room with light coming in through windows on the angled ceiling above. Ashley was lying on the ground next to a pillar with his hand propping his head up and his eyes closed. A dark-haired woman sat next to him and looked to the ceiling.

There was one person that was new, a dark-haired man whose hair was tied back in a short ponytail. He had a thick goatee, but no mustache to go with it and his skin was pale, though not pasty. His eyes were of pure black and not reflecting light in the slightest.

His clothes were plain compared to everyone else in the room, consisting of nothing more than a pair of leather pants, a sweater, a jacket, and boots hiked up that were all black, except for the boots which were brown. A curved sword hung from his belt by a length of cord.

"You must be Hardin." Vincent commented.

"Yes, John Hardin is my name."

"Hmm, cult lieutenant below Sydney Losstarot who vanished at the same time as he did."

"Aye, ye know quite a bit about me."

"Well, he was a Turk." Sephiroth leaned against a wall.

Vincent looked at what Sydney was doing, seeing that he was using the claws on his fingers to etch odd symbols into the stone floor. The symbols were some bizarre language that Vincent could only discern a bit of. It was some sort of incantation, an ancient spell that time had forgotten.

"Does something interest you, Vincent?" Sydney asked whilst not moving his eyes from his task.

"Wondering how you can know some magic that I've never heard of."

"Ye'll learn more 'fore the day is over." said Ashley who just opened his eyes.

Vincent observed the odd man once more and the woman in close proximity to him. He had been on Vincent's mind since Sephiroth made his presence known more than a month ago. Ashley, Ashley, he knew he had heard that name before. Maybe something in Shinra's records, but nothing came up even then. A bare hand on Vincent's chin tilted his head towards emerald eyes.

"Might I ask why your attention is directed at my master?" Sephiroth asked.

"Master?"

Ashley sat up and the dark-haired woman draped her arms over him.

"Ashley Riot," Sephiroth began "one of the finest warriors ever to have lived before the introduction of mako-showering which created SOLDIER. He vanished shortly after the Wutai war along with his partner, Callo Merlose who was an inquisitor of such talent that she could expose a spy ring in mere days."

"But why did you call Ashley your master?"

"Because I am." the man stood and started towards Vincent "I taught Sephiroth the basics of swordsmanship and he's the only person to beat me in combat."

"Well, aren't you quite the talent."

Sydney finally completed his scripture and looked to Sephiroth.

"Might you do the honors?" the blonde asked.

"Heh, of course." Sephiroth held out his hand.

Sephiroth drew his sword and slashed with it the moment it came out of the sheath. He struck the ground several times and made a sort of glyph on the ground. Sydney raised an eyebrow upon viewing the mark.

"Are you trying to kill them?" he asked.

"No, provided that they don't fool around." Sephiroth sheathed his sword.

The air was displacing and forming something. A clear silhouette, like something made of glass, began to appear in the circle. Vincent had seen this many times whilst summoning beasts from a higher plane of existence. His attention was diverted when he heard Sephiroth's boots noisily going up a set of stairs.

"Come now, we don't want to be around when the damned thing fully gets into our world." the silver-haired man chuckled.

Vincent took one last look before following Sephiroth as everyone else did. He just knew Cloud would be in for one hell of a surprise. As Vincent went onto the surface, a roar echoed through the halls of Lea Monde.

XXXXX

Cloud's wounds finally stopped making his body ache from pain and he stood. He started towards the exit of the room.

"You sure you don't wanna rest a little longer?" Cid asked.

"I'm fine. Besides, the longer we wait the further away those two bastards get."

Cloud walked without any further interruption towards the exit. This damned city was weird. Something had seeped into its walls long ago like a poison that killed slowly. What was Sephiroth doing here? Had he followed Cloud or had he been here to begin with? God, even the walls seemed to pulse with Sephiroth's aura.

Cloud stepped into a completely different area from the mines now. He now stood in a great hall with pillars on either side going in both directions into darkness. Torches were on the walls to light the passage, but the light was extremely low. Cloud heard moans in the distance and the sound of something scraping on the ground.

"Ya tink dat's someone wit' 'is 'oney?" Reno lewdly commented.

"No, but it's something not very nice."

"Fuck it, 's'not like it ain't nothin' we can't 'andle."

"Yeah, but I just want to get to Sephiroth so I can figure out what the hell is going on."

The moaning did not stop but went on like some kind of perverse dirge. Cloud looked down one direction and then the other, trying to decide which path to take. Darkness was down either one of them and the sound was coming down either direction as well. Cloud finally came up with a solution.

"Nanaki." he called.

"Yes?"

"What does your nose tell you?"

Nanaki sniffed the air to direct him. He paced a bit and the flame at the end of his tail illuminated the hall partially. Nanaki narrowed his only eye in contemplation.

"Hmm, both paths reek of decay," he mumbled "but this one has a breeze coming from it."

"I guess that'd be the way to the surface."

"What makes you think they would go the surface?"

"Even a snake has to see the sky every once in a while."

Cloud strolled down the path mechanically without looking to either side. Cid took a pull of his cigarette again and followed Cloud. Marlene shook her head.

"What is it, kid?" Cid asked.

"Why's Cloud acting like that?"

"Sephiroth gets his gears movin' pretty damn fast. Seems now since the guy's alive that Spiky's got an obligation."

"Obligation?"

Cid patted Marlene's back.

"It's a long story, a _very _long story."

XXXXX

Vincent had rain pelting his face the second Sephiroth opened a pair of heavy oak doors to access the outside. Vincent blinked his eyes, but it didn't take him long to get used to the low light because of its dullness from a stronger storm that seemed to have appeared whilst he was underground. Sephiroth's bangs were immediately plastered to his face and Ashley's spikes drooped as well.

Sephiroth ran his hand through his dripping hair and went into a vacant building which was one out of many in the city. Ashley lit a torch in the room they entered and illuminated the place. Callo set a map down on a table and smoothed it out. Vincent eyed it for a moment, seeing that it was a map of Lea Monde. Callo was a master of info indeed.

Ashley examined the map with his eyes and hands as well. His index finger stopped on one area and tapped it several times.

"This is our location," he mumbled and then slid his finger down the map "Cloud and his friends are about here," he slid his finger to what Vincent believed to be the entrance to the mine "and the Crimson Blades should be arriving here in about thirty minutes."

"Crimson Blades? Just who in the hell are they?"

"They're a group of men looking desperately for God." Sephiroth commented.

"What?"

Ashley ruffled his wet hair in a vain attempt to get his spikes back up. His eyes met Vincent's. Sephiroth just stood against a wall

"The Crimson Blades are an order in Valendia, the city you were in." Sephiroth explained "They've been looking for a messiah for ages and they believe this city to be the key."

"You explained to me that this city holds some sort of ancient power. But why exactly are these Crimson Blades coming?"

"They've grown tired of just viewing this city from a distance, so they've decided to go inside and force the power out."

Ashley chuckled at Sephiroth's words as he looked at the map.

"Yes, the fools try to grasp hold of power." the honey-haired man said "Fools who grasp the sun in their hands are always set ablaze."

Ashley kept running his fingers over the map. His index finger stopped at what seemed to be a border.

"This is where you'll be going I take it?" he asked Sephiroth.

"Snowfly Forest?" Sydney raised an eyebrow "Is it because it leads to the Iron Maiden?"

"Yes, I have a feeling that what I need to find is there." Sephiroth responded.

"What will you have us do?"

"You can set up barriers for the Blades along with Hardin and just keep a look out. Ashley can fight the Blades if he so desires, but everyone else is ordered to flee. Callo can be recon and Vincent is to accompany her."

"Mind explaining why Ashley can fight them?"

"Simple, he's the strongest next to me."

Sephiroth stepped out into the rain once more and craned his neck towards the sky. He savored the droplets as they splashed on his face and rolled down his neck. He whipped his hair to and fro before he began to walk down an abandoned street.

"Are you sure you won't have trouble getting there?" Hardin asked with a grin.

"Heh-heh, I'll manage. Tell Cloud I went towards the north if he wishes to find me."

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Hardin's comment.

"Does Sephiroth get lost in the city?" Vincent asked.

"You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?"

"He might have eyes in his head, but they're actually quite useless."

Vincent looked over his shoulder at the silver-haired man vanishing into the distance.

"He's blind?" he asked Hardin.

"Aye, his sight has long since been taken, but that doesn't seem to have hampered his ability to fight."

Vincent looked as Sephiroth turned a corner.

"Perhaps he sees more with no sight than any of us do."

XXXXX

Cloud was busy stumbling in the dark at the moment and came about a hair's breadth from hitting a pillar. The fool who decided to make this place darker than space was someone who deserved to be blasted in the crotch with a shotgun. Nanaki had said that this was the way out and Cloud believed him, but he couldn't help but get that cold feeling in his gut again.

Reno smacked his rod against the stone wall, getting a spark momentarily which only illuminated a few feet and caused his eyes to begin to readjust to the light again. This was not a good day at all.

"Sheeit, I hate 'dis fuckin' place." he mumbled.

"Hey, you ain't the only one." "Yuffie agreed.

"Mind lightin' da place up wit' some ninja shit?"

"No can do."

"Fuck."

Cid blew out a smoke ring, the circle lazily rising towards the ceiling. Nothing had happened for the past few minutes, which was odd considering that supposedly the halls of the damn labyrinth were infested and that at the moment not a thing had been seen. Just what the hell was up with that? Marlene sat and leaned against a pillar, her youthful body unused so such an excursion.

"Let's rest." she whined.

Cloud stopped momentarily and looked at Marlene in the dim light. He sighed and ruffled his spikes.

"Alright, everybody take five. Cid, come with me."

The older man took another puff and followed behind Cloud slowly. Cloud's eyes had finally adjusted to light and he could see adequately in the darkness. This still didn't help him see into rooms on either side of him which made him tenser than he needed to be. He looked into one room and didn't see anything of intrigue besides the writing on the walls.

"Cid, gimme your lighter."

Cid lit his lighter and handed it to Cloud. Cloud knelt at a corner and looked at the words written on the walls.

"What is it?" the older man asked.

"Writing, everything's covered in it."

Cid ran a hand along one wall.

"That ain't any sorta writing I've seen. Can you read it?"

"Yeah, somehow I can."

"Shit, maybe should pop another one of those pills."

"I only take those when I see something I know I shouldn't be."

Cid stood next to the younger blonde and tried to discern the bizarre language. The characters were fluid and wavy with rare gaps. Cid cocked his head to one side, confused.

"What's it say?" he asked.

"Random words, like, water, fire, hell, heaven, blade, damned, just a load of gibberish."

"So nothing."

"Yeah." Cloud closed the lighter and handed it back to Cid.

"So why are you so intrigued?"

"Because I wonder how I can read them."

Cloud sighed and exited the room with Cid at his side.

"I think it's been five minutes by now."

"Hey, give 'em some more time. I mean, shit, Marlene ain't used to this."

"Unless you forgot, there is a freaking psycho somewhere in this damn city and I'm not stopping until I track the bastard down and rip his freaking head off."

"Is that it? Your goddamned obsession is revived so you gotta chase this bastard down cuz ya feel obligated? Man, fuck you."

Cloud stepped up to Cid, glaring at him straight into his eyes.

"Say that again and I will shove my sword so far up your ass that you'll be kissing the hilt."

"Bring it the fuck on, Spiky."

Cloud took his blade off his back and Cid readied his spear. Both were very pissed off and would be more than willing to beat the ever living hell out of each other. However, intervention came in the form of Reno who had decided to see what was going on when he heard the two arguing. Needless to say, he stepped in between the two.

"Ya mind tellin' me what da hell is goin' on!" he yelled at Cloud.

"Looks like we're about to have one helluva good fight."

"Hey, hey, hey! Da last t'ing we need is people gettin' killed over bullshit. Now calm da fuck down!"

As if they needed more things to sidetrack them, a rumbling came bouncing throughout the halls. Cloud took a glance down the stone path and put his sword on his back once more.

"Alright, I'll just go kick that thing's ass." he said before walking down the hall.

"We'll finish this." Cid growled.

Cloud just responded with a grunt and headed down the hall. Cid shouldered his spear and puffed out another cloud.

"What wazzup wit' dat?" Reno asked.

"Bullshit."

XXXXX

Sephiroth was in darkness as always. He couldn't see a damn thing, but it's not as though it bothered him heavily. People often thought that they were in a state of bliss or horror. Utter nonsense, there were no such things as better or worse in the world.

For example, if you were wealthy you would have money and no worries about food, but you would contract quite a few annoying social relationships otherwise avoided if you were of a lesser income. Being poor gave the possibility of starving, but freedom was galore. Being blind had robbed Sephiroth of the ability to see things, but it offered a very unique opportunity that very few people had.

He could "see" the drops of water bouncing off of every surface around, creating a chorus of water and stone. Each drop made a unique sound and created a sort of silhouette for him to go by. Blind? Sephiroth was far from blind.

Sephiroth could feel every drop sliding down his skin and even his hair. He could smell the rain which was a scent no other person would notice until the forevermore shower had ended. No sight also offered Sephiroth a sort of new sense, like being able to sense something behind him. No, he couldn't hear them, but he could "feel" them.

The silver-haired man went down a street rather nonchalantly. The so-called "Cold Ones" would not come above ground until not a ray of light was descending from the heavens. Sephiroth did his low, unnerving chuckle and thought for a bit.

This place was perfect, just bloody perfect. To live in such hell and heaven was indeed perfect. Hell? Yes, this place was hell to a person; things scuttling in alleys and corridors at night, ready to rip into flesh and gnaw on bones for dessert. They never even tried to gnaw on Sephiroth, though they had threatened several times. This place was also heaven because of it; no one around besides pure beings. There were no thoughts of rape or murder, none of thievery or bigotry. All was fair.

Sephiroth stopped dead in his tracks. Ah yes, the feeling of some rather rotten fellows arriving a few miles away. Lord, Cloud still wasn't out of the damned catacombs yet? He had thought more highly of the boy. Then again, the fool had more emotion issues than a maiden. However…the Crimson Blades were going to come eventually, so what was an hour? This would be fun.

XXXXX

Several carriages came crashing down the muddy road rather loudly. Chocobos ruffled their feathers to try to get the copious amounts of water off of their bodies, but to no avail. The door of the lead carriage opened and a black umbrella came out. Weatherworn boots stepped into the vile mud and their owner came out of the carriage.

It was a man wearing simple attire, nothing more than a pair of black pants and a black shirt, though his shirt had a white collar like a vicar's. His blond hair was slicked back with a few stray strands hanging just above his eyes. Tan eyes scanned the area methodically, taking note of the smell coming from the building.

"Not a one stayed?" asked a voice inside the carriage.

"Yea, they've all gone."

Another blond man stepped out of the carriage and was dressed in similar fashion to the other. However he looked older with his hair in a bowl cut and sporting a rather thick goatee on his chin. The man spat to get water out of his mouth and tapped the head of a shillelagh he had in his hand.

"Brother," he said "do ye have any sort of idea what we'll be facin'?"

"No, but I believe we can handle it."

"Oi, wit are ye' babblin' aboot out there?" said a gruff voice from another carriage "Grissom, Duane?"

"Just talking about the dangers."

"Ach, te hell wit' t'em. Ma axe'll split their throats like meat."

"Zealous as always, eh, Tieger?"

Duane, the elder of the two brothers, stepped into the building and examined the inside. The smell of rotting, decaying bodies didn't seem to faze him and he even did the sign of the cross.

"Lord God, take these stray souls to your bosom and guide them to paradise."

The younger brother, Grissom, closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. Lightning struck the building promptly and in a matter of moments the place was an inferno. Duane calmly exited the building and got under Grissom's umbrella.

"So, which one?" Grissom asked.

"Sydney, he hates fighting so he messes with 'em first. Nary can a soul resist it."

"Aye."

A foot more graceful than either of the men's stepped out of the back carriage. Brown leather covered slender, delicate-looking calves. A woman with rich, bronze skin stepped out as the rain began plastering her pure-white hair to her face. She was a rare beauty, though she seemed to be a bit of an Amazon because of her height. She might have even matched the brothers' height. Her manner of dress was of a sort of one-piece clothing consisting of a sleeveless brown-leather shirt and a long skirt to mid-calf that had vents on either side. Underneath it was a pair of tight white pants that were tucked into brown boots.

The lady stepped forward, her delicate frame under assault from the torrents. A slender finger slid her ivory bangs from her face to allow her to see the burning house.

"You didn't have to do that." she said bluntly.

"We can't allow our brothers to be turned into the Cold Ones." Grissom answered.

"Well, you could have at least given them a proper burial."

"We'll spread the ashes once this is over."

"You'll be spreading mud."

"A firecracker as always, aren't ye Neesa?" Duane said.

Neesa crossed her arms under her breasts and looked at the fire that was still burning despite the rain.

"They're all a bunch of nutters." Grissom muttered.

"No, there's no such thing as madness," Neesa argued "just stupidity. If anyone acts the way they do, it's because they're damned stupid."

"Neesa, always so fiery."

"Bah."

Grissom took out a PHS and speed-dialed a number on it. The phone on the other end rang twice before it was picked up.

"Hello?" asked Bethuel's voice.

"It's Grissom, we're at the entrance."

"Good, now get inside and call me when something of _extreme _importance happens. I'll be coming along shortly."

"Hm? You're coming?"

"Yes, I just need you to clear a path for me."

"Alright, I'll see ye soon."

Grissom turned off the PHS and stuffed it into his pocket. He just looked at the mine entrance and grimaced.

_Lea Monde, the City of Shade_

XXXXX

Cloud was still as tense as a violin string about to snap. Not a thing, not one damn thing had come at them during the entire time. That Bethuel guy must have had his head up his ass or something. Well…it wasn't like they weren't being watched. Cloud could feel eyes on him, he could definitely hear scuttling. Part of him wanted to just go completely psychotic and leap into the darkness, slashing at everything in sight just to relieve some stress. However, his better judgment kept him from doing so as he'd rather not have battles.

Yuffie was fooling around as usual, hopping on a higher ledge next to the group to alleviate her boredom. Unbeknownst to her, Reno was checking out her ass at every chance as she skipped like she was still sixteen. A flick on his ear from Rude stopped him from doing anything further.

Cloud stopped as he heard running water and examined his surroundings to the best of his ability. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, but he couldn't see a damn thing in the corridor they were in.

"Cid." he said curtly.

"What?"

"See if there's a torch on the wall."

"If I fall into the fuckin' water, it's your ass."

"Yeah, yeah."

Cid grumbled in a disgruntled tone as he fumbled around on the walls to look for a torch. His hand brushed against something wooden and he closed his fingers around a torch. The tip was heavily dipped in oil, perfect. Cid brought his lighter to the tip and set it on fire. Soon the corridor was filled with golden light that even seeped onto the underground river below.

Cloud brushed his spikes with his hair again and looked to the other side. He could definitely see some sort of door on the other side, but the river had to be at least thirty wide and there was no shore in case someone fell. There was a bridge as well with a simple lever system to lower it. It was then that he got an idea.

"Hey, Cid." he said.

"What?"

"Can you jump that distance?"

"Hey, I'm old, but I ain't lame."

"Alright, show me what'cha got."

Cid handed the torch to Reno and his spear to Marlene. He turned on his heel and slowly started down the hall they had been down previously. When Cid had walked about thirty feet, he turned on his heel and then went into a dead sprint down the hall. He was a blur as he ran and then cleared more than the entire width of the river, slamming into a wall feet-first.

"Alright, now hurry da hell up!" Reno yelled over the river.

"Alright, alright, ya impatient bastard."

Cid nonchalantly kicked the lever to move it, sending the ancient wooden bridge slamming down. The older man took a puff of his cigarette again as Marlene tossed his spear which he deftly caught. Reno handed over the torch to Rude since he was already holding his rod and he didn't need anything else at the moment.

Cloud pushed open the door rather forcefully, but then he wished he hadn't. Right in the middle of the lit room was something curled up on the floor like a dog. Scaly and green was the creature's hide and great wings were folded over its back. It purred and groaned in its sleep. Rude raised his eyebrows in surprise. Reno leaned over to Cloud.

"What da fuck didja do ta piss dis guy off?" he asked "Fuck 'is 'oney er somethin'?"

"I dunno, but we have a very big problem on our hands."

Despite that the two were merely whispering, the monster seemed to have heard them and it yawned loudly. Orange and red flames flowed from between it fangs and its scaly lids opened to reveal blood-red eyes with a mere slit for a pupil among its irises. It looked at its visitors and growled. It flapped its wings and stood. Its roar rebounded around the room, making everyone cover their ears at its intensity.

Sound can be quite a distraction in battle, and it seemed everyone had fallen right into the dragon's tactic. Just as everyone had flinched at its roar, the thing had readied its breath and all the air in the room became boiling.

Cloud was the first to recover and everyone would be thanking him later for saving their sorry asses as he drew his sword and barely managed to bat away a huge ball of flame fired at them. The offending blast hit a wall and caused flame to splash everywhere like water.

Everyone got back to their senses, albeit with a bit of ringing in their ears, and readied their weapons. The dragon whipped its tail at the group who scattered to the winds and prepared to battle.

The beast was greater in agility than its large size would usually dictate and whipped its body around to face Rude who was going for a feet-first dive into its back. Its huge tail sent the bald man crashing into a wall, causing the rock to crumble and fall onto the floor.

"'Ey!"

The dragon reacted to the sudden snap and found that Reno was bashing it in the face with his rod. However, the dragon was about as affected as a statue and opened its maw, which Reno just froze in reaction as he stared into the gaping mouth. He was bowled over by Yuffie who just barely managed to avoid the dragon's lunge.

"Moron!" she yelled "You might as well be using a damn stick."

"Shaddup!"

Both fled from the beast as it went for another bite. Nanaki took his chance and dashes towards the dragon, sinking his fangs into its throat as deep as he could. It was a mere pinprick, but even a pinprick hurts like hell at times. The dragon thrashed everywhere, smashing pillars and causing craters in the floor as it tried to dislodge Nanaki who hung onto it like a limpet.

Marlene was loading a grenade into a launcher on her gun and promptly cocked the device. The dragon was right in her sights, but Nanaki was still properly clamped onto its neck. The young girl whistled and Nanaki leapt from the creature's throat as Marlene pulled the trigger of her gun. The grenade it the dragon right in the head above its eyes, sending pieces of metal flying everywhere that everyone had to dodge. However, the dragon was as hardheaded as they come and shook off the damage.

Then it heard a very guttural yell and saw Cid dropping with his spear point aimed right at its head. Cid sunk the spear deep into its skull, but its head seemed to be quite thick as the beast was still alive and bucking like a bronco. The older man turned his attention to Cloud.

"Hey! Spiky!" he yelled "Pull a Sigurd and rip this bastard open."

Cloud needed not second warning as he slid under the dragon after a dead sprint. His main sword would be too large with this little amount of space, so he drew Hrunting from his hip and sunk it into the dragon's belly. Cloud pushed off against the ground and ran Hrunting against the dragon's abdomen, gutting the thing utterly. Cid leapt from the beast just as it was in its death throes, but Cloud wasn't as lucky as the dragon's tail whipped like a lash and sent him crashing into a pillar.

Cloud dropped like a rag-doll onto the floor, obviously out cold. The last thing he heard before darkness took him was the steps of his comrades coming towards him. None of them saw the gray silhouette of John Hardin as they did so.

XXXXX

"Well, how is he?" asked Sydney as was doing something.

Hardin opened his eyes and sighed.

"By the gods, he's like a brigade."

"He had his friends helping him, remember?"

"Yes, but to gut a dragon with a sword, one-armed as well, is a feat that few people can do."

Sydney finished with the door he was fiddling with and turned on his heel towards his friend.

"Sephiroth spoke highly of the man." he gestured with his hand "And it seems he was right."

"Aye, but how will his comrades fare once the Blades are in town and he is away?"

"Heh-heh, they're quite strong as well; let's not worry for the moment."

"Careless as always, eh Sydney?"

The whipcord of a man stepped towards a window and looked at the river below. The way the rain made the river seemingly textured was an intriguing effect.

"Did you see the Blades?"

"Aye, at least four."

"Four? Which ones?"

"Neesa, Grissom, and Duane I could see, but Tieger stayed in the carriage."

"Well, well, well, quite the elite team."

"Indeed."

Sydney turned on his heel towards the wall and melted into it. Hardin did the same as the halls of Lea Monde let them in.

XXXXX

Vincent gazed up at the gigantic spire in the middle of Lea Monde that rose into the sky like a spear. There was no point to gathering info at the moment, so Merlose decided to give Vincent a tour of the ancient building and explain the city. The thin woman opened a heavy oak door with a single hand and ushered Vincent inside. The dark man took the offer and walked inside rather calmly.

Merlose shut the door behind them and Vincent perused the ancient cathedral. A typical church, two rows of pews made of black stone and at the back of the room was a stand for a preacher to be at. Torches and candles were everywhere to light the place in pale illumination.

"Beautiful." Vincent said simply.

"Aye, 'tis best in the dark."

"Have you been here with Ashley often?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You two are quite close."

Merlose just sighed and headed towards a door at the side. Before going up the stairway in it, she turned to Vincent.

"Valentine." she said.

"What?"

"Before we go any further there's something you should know."

"Oh?" Vincent crossed his arms.

"First, there are at least two sides to everything." Merlose raised her index finger "And second, history is written by those who win." Merlose raised her middle finger.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Merlose's statement.

"Is there something that might shock me?"

"You and everyone else in the world."

Vincent raised an eyebrow as he followed Merlose up the flight of stairs. The trip was short, merely to the next level. However, his destination gave him the motivation to say a very interesting statement:

"What the hell is this?"

XXXXX

Cloud just sat at the table in his living room, one hand pressed against his face with his eyes closed and the other holding a white piece of paper. An envelope was on the desk, the letter inside was in Cloud's hand. There were just two words: _I'm sorry_.

Cloud ran his hand down his face, stopping just above his lips. It was her handwriting, he recognized it immediately. Nothing was gone, not once thing, except her. I'm sorry? That's all she could say? Bah, who the hell was he kidding? It's not like he deserved anymore than that. Hell, he deserved worse. Bastard that he was, he still had the guts to feel bad about it.

Cloud's eyes just gazed off into nothing, glassy but nothing falling. Fuck, he couldn't even cry? Shit like this happens and the only think he could fucking do was sit? Cloud's breathing was slow, steady, like his heart was. It hurt, god fucking damn it did it hurt. He swore that getting impaled would have hurt less.

The hand on Cloud's face tensed and his eyes closed rather tightly. His arm moved in a swift, short arc as he flipped the table at his side and made it crash against a wall. The chair he had once stood on was now lying on its back on the floor and it sure as hell didn't take him long to promptly punt the thing and cause it to break into several pieces.

Cloud was angry, pissed, enraged, melancholy, depressed, sad, and just plain crazy all at once. He firmly planted his foot into the downed table and smashed it in two and then did a roundhouse kick on a doorjamb and caused it to collapse to the side. Cloud's knees suddenly gave out and he started pounding the wooden floor with his bare hands until they bled.

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why the hell did this happen?"

Cloud's curses were mixed with sobs and the pain in his heart. Tears fell, and did he ever weep. He begged and he wept.

_Tif__…it…it hurts_

XXXXX

What happened next surprised the hell out of everybody, but it wasn't exactly something Cloud hadn't done before. One second he was lying on the floor as Marlene was about to see to his wounds and the next he was swinging his sword around wildly with a rather crazed look in his eyes.

Rude and Cid acted immediately, tackling the man to the ground and having Reno toss his sword aside.

"Calm down dammit!" Cid ordered.

Cloud still struggled for a bit, but it was entirely instinctual and had very little idea of what he was doing. His body relaxed and he came to his senses. He looked at Cid and wondered just what the hell happened.

"You better have a good explanation for this." the younger blonde said to the older one.

"Yeah, you about to go ape-shit."

"Understandable."

Cid and Rude released Cloud who cringed as he realized his back felt like several cars had run over it. Cloud just remained seated as Marlene had him remove his shirt.

"How long was I out?" he asked Cid as he removed his jacket.

"About fifteen minutes. Ya took a helluva hit."

"I remembered being hit by the dragon and then smacking right into the wall."

"Yeah, ya landed on the floor and passed out. Ya might have a concussion."

"It wouldn't be the first."

Cloud took off his shirt and Marlene examined his back. He didn't feel like he broke anything, but quite a bit of his back was bruised. The young girl went to repairing the damage Cloud had sustained. He couldn't do anything at the moment, so he just relaxed and sat tight.

God, that dream he had was something he could have gone the rest of his life without seeing. Every time he had it, he felt like killing himself. He didn't want to think about it, not now. Some shit like was the last thing he needed during something like this. His head sunk down and then he saw something _very _interesting on his chest.

It was that cross again, that bizarre, blood-red, six-pointed cross. However, this one was inverted, what normally would have been the bottom point was aimed at his head.

"What the holy fuck?" he yelled.

"Well, it seems number seven shows up."

Everyone reacted to the new voice and looked up the flight of stairs at the back of the room. Ashley stood about eight steps up; a rather large object wrapped in cloth was set against his shoulder. The tall man walked down the stairs, his black coat swishing with his steps.

"Who the hell are you?" Cid lowered his spear.

"Riot, Ashley Riot, former soldier for Shinra. I am now allied with Sephiroth."

"Well lemme introduce ya to the tip of my big stick!"

Cid went for a thrust with his spear, but Ashley fluidly sidestepped the weapon and then grabbed the haft of it. The man wrenched the weapon from Cid's hands and then gave him a rather harsh blow to the side of his abdomen with it and sent him to the ground. Cid was about to get up when the point of his spear was stabbed into the ground to close to his head that the blade grazed the side of his face. Cid just stared at what his head could have been on.

Ashley set his rather large luggage down and just looked at everyone else who seemed to be ready to kill. Unlike Sephiroth, he didn't smirk and just gave a bored expression. His eyes turned to Cloud and zeroed in on the mark he had on his chest.

"It's inverted." Ashley stated "Well, you're rather special."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"The mark on your chest, it's the Bloody Sin."

"Cut the shit before I slit your throat." Cloud attempted to stand only to be brought to his knees from pain.

"You couldn't so much as harm a fly in your state. Besides, I'm not here to fight."

"Oh?"

Ashley leaned on the clothbound item he had and fiddled with his spike.

"Go north, that's what Sephiroth said." he said simply.

"Typical of him wanting me to follow him."

"I suppose, but he's actually going somewhere instead of leading nowhere."

"I'll find him, and I'll kill him."

"Oh? And why?"

Rude had decided to take his chance and sneak behind Ashley while he talked with Cloud. However, Rude hit nothing and the next thing anyone saw was Ashley standing perpendicular to the wall some fifteen feet up it.

"Do you relish your misery so much?" he asked "Is the reason she went because you just wanted to put yourself into a living prison that you yourself made?"

"Shut…your…mouth!" Cloud finally managed to stand, though his body groaned in agony.

"People are odd." Ashley walked up the wall "When we are hurt, we cling to it and savor it like wine. Some just ignore it with false memories, but do we ever relish them as well."

"I said shut up!"

Cloud bashed his sword onto the ground, an electric-blue blade of energy shooting towards Ashley. The older man swatted the attack with his item and then landed right in front of Cloud, his eyes boring into Cloud's sapphire ones.

"Don't lash out at me. You're the one that begged for it."

"You son of a bi-oof!"

Ashley barely put any force into the blow as he struck Cloud in his abdomen and sent him to his knees.

"Head north, he's wanting you."

Ashley shouldered his object once more and strolled casually into the walls, melting into them and vanishing Marlene rushed to Cloud immediately to examine him.

"Hey! You alright?" Marlene asked "? Cloud?"

Tears were coming from the man's eyes. Whether he noticed or not was unknown.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Marlene asked.

"…No."

"Cloud, you're crying."

"…Nothing's wrong" Cloud began to remember that dream "…Nothing."

XXXXX

Quite a ways from Cloud's, Vincent's, or the Crimson Blades' locations was Sephiroth. He was standing under a bamboo tree at the moment to provide temporary shelter from the rain as he smoked. The leaves and branched kept most of the rain from hitting the ground, but the moisture was still in the air and it was as cool as ever.

Sephiroth blew out another smoke cloud as he sighed and just listened to sounds of silence. Rain dripping from leaf to branch and then to leaf again, leaves dropping ever so slowly to the ground, and stray winds whistling through the forest. Sephiroth felt the forest's namesake, odd, white insect named snowflies, land on his hand. Many legs skittered over his skin and onto the tip of his finger.

Sephiroth grinned and touched a bamboo tree with his fingertip, letting the little creature scurry on its way. Sephiroth put out his pipe and placed the thing back into his coat. He headed north again, going ever closer to his destination.

Ashley probably contacted Cloud by now, which was just to relay information. Of course, Cloud would if come even if he wasn't told to do so. He chased Sephiroth like a rabid dog, like a madman. Sephiroth brushed his bangs with his hand and continued onward, his form melting into the forest.

XXXXX

Author's Notes: Hmm, this turned out shorter than I first planned. Forgive this one if he took long, but things have been rather chaotic in my life and…I've…I've gotten in touch with something that I haven't in a long time. I remember why I forgot it, but now I can't let it go. It's nothing, but let's just say I've finally come to believe something I've been telling myself for a long time.

Enough of my ramblings, here's some data:

Shinhiryuujin- "Divine Blaze Dragon God". A sacred sword that burns as cruelly as an evil sun

Name: John Hardin

Weapon: Sword

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Height: 5 ft 11 in

Blood Type: B

Break Arts: Unknown

Biography: Sydney's lieutenant and close friend. He doesn't seem to have the exact same powers as Sydney or the others, but they're unique nonetheless

Name: Callo Merlose

Weapon: Unknown

Birthplace: Unknown

Age: Unknown

Height: 5 ft 6 in

Blood Type: O

Break Arts: Unknown

Biography: Ashley's former partner and an analyst of exceptional talent. She is almost always at Ashley's side. Could there be more to them than just business?

Ashley's Biography: Former soldier of Shinra before Mako-showering and Sephiroth's master. His partner was Merlose and there is some suspicion of the two being more than partners.

Cloud's Break Arts:

Braver- Overheard, jumping slash from above

Cross Slash- Wutainese style sword technique that paralyzes opponent if certain pressure points are hit correctly

Blade Beam- Energy is blasted from blade and can cut opponent from a distance.

Climhazzard- A vicious attack where the opponent is stabbed in the abdomen and the sliced in two or gutted from the point of entry-upward

Meteorain- Meteors are made from Cloud's anger and smash down on enemies

Finishing Touch- Displacement of air causes a tornado to blow enemies away

Omnislash- Berserk attack where the enemy is at the mercy of the user. Cannot be blocked or dodged

Nanaki's Break Arts:

Sled Fang- Dash right through enemies' defenses

Lunatic High- Planet's energy gives allies feet as swift as the winds

Blood Fang- Rage drinks from enemy

Stardust Ray- The stars crash down from above

Howling Moon- The sight of the lunar sphere makes Nanaki go mad

Earth Rave- The forces of nature dance like a fine warrior

Cosmo Memory- A technique used by the Canyon's protectors

Cid's Break Arts:

Boost Jump- Legs conditioned from working on rockets are put to use

Dynamite- It seems he does more with that cancer-stick than smoke it

Hyper Jump- A mighty leap followed by a downward blow with a spear

Dragon- Calls one of the most powerful creatures

Dragon Dive- Make the dragoons of old proud

Big Brawl- One too many drunken nights leads to this

Shera- His baby is one helluva bitch-maker

Yuffie's Break Arts:

Greased Lightning- Blow is done so fast it isn't felt at first

Clear Tranquil- Ninja art of healing

Landscaper- Make the earth shake

Bloodfest- Kamikaze jutsu of exceptional deadliness

Gauntlet- Watch as the user's energy explodes

Doom of the Living- A technique that few dare to speak of

All Creation- The ougi of the Kisaragi house. No one has ever seen it and lived

Marlene's Break Arts:

Big Shot- Super-huge ball of energy blasts away enemy

Mind Blow- Ball of energy sucks up magic

Grenade Bomb- Secondary grenade launcher is utilized

Hammerblow- Marlene's surprisingly strong fists send foes flying

Satellite Beam- Friend from above fires down

Ungarmax- Marlene lets loose with many, many clips

Catastrophe- A powerful technique learned from her adoptive father

Reno's Break Arts:

Bitch-Slap- Good ol'-fashioned smack from the slums

Skull Blast- Let loose with Electro-Rod on opponent's head

Lightning Rod- Calls down bolts from above

Stick Where the Sun Don't Shine- Let's just say they won't be sitting down for awhile

Scuffle- Bare-knuckle brawling

Blast- Powerful attack from below

Pyramid- A cage of electricity burns foe

Rude's Break Arts:

Bum Rush- Fast pummeling

Flip Kick- Vaults off foe

Crescent Moon- Kicks foes legs out from under them

Back Breaker- Suplex move

Rising Dragon- Rise into the air like a dragon

Geronimo- Drop down with massive force

Rumble Earth- Make the ground dance

Vincent's Break Arts;

Galian Beast- The number of the beast is six-hundred-sixty-six and it hungers

Death Gigas- Monster made from human body parts

Hellmasker- Mad killer comes back

Chaos- A demon from the very depths of Hell


	3. Yukihae

Author's Notes: Damn it's been awhile since I worked on this. After seeing AC and knowing enough about DoC and Crisis Core, I've decided that none of them affect my story that much, though I probably won't reference them (DoC especially). I've also made several changes in earlier chapters, such as a change to what Sydney's weapon will be and Cloud's sword is now named the "First Tsurugi" with all the component blades given appropriate names.

Oh yeah, a reference I forgot to talk about was when Cid yelled "Pull a Sigurd" in the last chapter. It's a Norse reference to a hero named Sigurd gutting a dragon named Fafnir.

XXXXX

Season Three _Yukihae _(Snowflies)

Sephiroth tread slowly through the bamboo forest, his ears listening to every noise along the way. During the day, it was a rather lovely sight to behold. The snowflies made it seem like winter no matter what season and hovered in the air to make an ethereal landscape. Sephiroth's blindness prevented him from witnessing such a scene, however.

In all of Lea Monde, Snowfly Forest was the only place where it seemed peaceful. However, its true nature was in the fact that anything vile happening within it was dealt with quickly. Creatures scuttled about and devoured swiftly as to not leave even the slightest hint of activity.

This fact only brought that odd grin to Sephiroth's lips though. He liked how the forest's inhabitants didn't like to disturb the atmosphere by leaving corpses. He didn't want to either, so he'd rather avoid having to use his blades.

A sound came to Sephiroth's ears, one foreign to the forest. It was far off, but not terribly. It sounded like metal. Not a brush over grass, but instead like the clanking sound of metal plates. The Crimson Blades weren't even in town yet, let alone this deep into the forest.

So, it was one of those things that "she" described; very interesting.

XXXXX

Vincent just gazed in shock at what was before him. It seemed to be a giant mural chiseled into the wall. It bore no words, but it relayed a sort of message. Images of people fighting, and what seemed to be a war were amongst the pictures, but what exactly did it mean?

"What the hell is this?" Vincent demanded from Merlose.

"Valentine, this is a depiction of the genocide of the oldest race of people ever to live on the Planet."

"The Cetra? That's nothing new."

Merlose sighed, as though Vincent was an ignoramus.

"No, Valentine, did you not listen to what I said earlier?"

"Two sides to everything and history is told by the winners?"

"Yes, this is the side of the Cetra not told."

Merlose strode up to the mural, running her hand across it slowly. The carving was obviously ancient due to the amount of wear it had endured as well as the thick layer of dust over it. The picture then became more vivid. Details of people being slaughtered and perhaps even sacrifices were now shown. The Cetra had actually done travesties like that? Merlose ran her hand through her hair.

"Apparently the Cetra were a race that hopped from place to place and would claim that place as their own." she said in a monologue "One group came here and ran into an ancient people that were peaceful and kind."

"And they were called…?"

"I believe Sephiroth told me that they were called the Kildeans, the most ancient and mysterious race on the planet."

Vincent raised a brow to that. Most people who would hear this would have been shocked to the point of denial, but he merely knew it would be useless to try and deny it. He sighed, waving his hand to have Merlose go one with her explanation.

The slender woman stepped back, looking fully at the grand mural in all its glory. Her grape eyes admired it slowly, but she was brought back to her explanation.

"From what they tell us, the Kildeans were slaughtered and the town became what it is now:" she explained "a haven that shows no quarter to anyone."

"They?" Vincent was a bit perplexed.

Merlose turned, moving her hand in a sweeping motion.

"The witnesses, the deceased Kildeans." she answered.

To this Vincent gave an appropriate reply: that of his eyes opening as wide as they could. Witnesses? Was it possible to speak to the dead?

"You show shock to this, and yet you merely raise your brow at the Cetra's deepest secret?" Merlose smiled almost playfully.

"I've never heard of anyone talking to the dead."

Merlose smirked knowingly, though what she knew Vincent didn't. She ran her hands through her black hair and sighed.

"Talking is such a bore, especially to those who have long lost tongues and throats." she said.

"What?"

"We communicate, though it's something more than that; listen."

To what, Vincent thought. Not a noise was around except for that damned rain. Although, he supposed it was better to take Merlose's advice than to shun it needlessly.

The dark man closed his eyes, listening for any sort of noise. Again, all he heard was the rain drumming one the cathedral. It was as though it was a stampede of sorts. The rain then seemed to louder, overwhelming, epic. The drumming no longer sounded like rain; more like hooves racing on a plain.

Wait…that was the sound of hooves; but…it was more of a _feeling _than a sound. It was as though the very vibrations were ringing through Vincent's body, almost as if he himself was being crushed by hooves. What…what the hell was this?

The feeling intensified and now screams and shrieks resounded through the air, striking straight through Vincent's heart. He could taste blood in his mouth; feel blades going into his flesh; lights of infinite cruelty burning his eyes. Vincent was feeling sensory overload far beyond that of anything he could have imagined. This was…this was the very emotions and fear that these people had experiences.

"Do you understand now?"

Vincent had been brought back to reality by Merlose's voice, albeit he was now veiled in sweat. His breathing was labor and his eyes were wide, as though he had seen a murder. Vincent looked at Merlose, swallowing before responding.

"What…what was that?"

"Everything the Kildeans experienced mixed into a vortex. Their feelings, their emotions, everything. It's…incredible."

"That was what happened to them?" Vincent was quite obviously still a bit flustered at such an intense event.

"Yes, nothing more than indiscriminate, wanton slaughter to claim this city."

Vincent leaned against a pillar, his legs a bit shaky from his venture into a collective consciousness. Merlose, however, brushed her hand over the mural, delicate fingers tracing grooves.

"However…" she looked to Vincent "it seemed as though this city in fact rejected its would-be conquerors."

"Rejected? How can a city reject anyone?"

"Hoh?" Merlose raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, I know the Planet has a will of its own, but how can a mere city reject the people the Planet recognized?"

"Tch, how vulgar." Merlose almost seemed insulted "The Planet is no judge, it merely goes with what history allows."

"But it shouldn't be possible!" Vincent finally caught his second wind "How can a place like this, something that's a speck on the map refuse to bend to the Planet's will?!"

Merlose thought for a moment, her hand cupping her chin. Glancing at the ceiling and then to Vincent, she answered.

"The Bloody Rood."

"What?" Vincent's response was in turn answered by Merlose tapping her left arm.

Vincent looked at his left arm, remembering the odd, six-pointed cross that was on it. Come to think of it, he remembered that only people with the cross could perform things like unusual summoning and teleportation inside the city. So this symbol was the force behind it.

"Now I'm even more confused." Vincent's mind was starting to reach its limits in comprehension.

"The Bloody Rood, a symbol of Lea Monde's power as Lea Monde itself is a giant wellspring awaiting its release."

Merlose and Vincent's eyes went to the stairs, seeing the slender figure of Sydney strolling up the steps ever-so-casually. The thin man just smirked at the pair as he met them.

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked the blond.

"The Kildeans had far different sorcery than those of materia, it was more along the lines of forcing their will into the world rather than using the power of the Planet."

Sydney looked to the ceiling as Merlose had a moment ago. Vincent's eyes gazed above, seeing the familiar rood upon the ceiling.

"Yes, it's a symbol revered here," Sydney continued "an icon synonymous with power, death, and life."

"Fitting that the cultist would know about worship." Vincent's comment only made Sydney cackle.

"What brings you to the cathedral, Sydney?" Merlose seemed a bit surprised "I though Sephiroth told ye to seal the ways with sigils and guardians."

"Oh Hardin is taking care of that. Besides, I had to come retrieve my dancing partner."

Vincent eyed Sydney's partner, which happened to be a battle scythe at least two feet longer than he was tall. The dark metal it was made of and the scythe's wicked blade certainly fit its owner well. Sydney rested the haft on his shoulders and looked to Vincent.

"You look like you have something to ask me."

"Quite, such as why people like you end up here and speak of worship and gods."

"Trust me Valentine it's inevitable for people such as us."

"And exactly what kind of people are we?"

"Drifters, vagrants, wanderers of life who go aimlessly."

XXXXX

It didn't take long for Cloud to get back up, despite the fact that Marlene was sure he had at least cracked a rib or two. Everyone was sure that Ashley's practical mockery of Cloud and his subsequent telegraph of Sephiroth's challenge didn't help, but no one said anything. As it was, they were glad that they finally got out of the musty, suffocating underground. When they got in the rain though, they suddenly remembered how much of a blessing the catacombs had been.

"I swea' ta Gawd, I would give my lef' friggin' nut fah dis shit to let up already." Reno's fiery hair was plastered to his face mere seconds after coming above ground.

"Oh be quiet, we're all soaked to the bone here. 'Least you got glasses to cover your face from the rain."

Yuffie was thoroughly pissed. Her sweater would retain water for hours and the lack of any sort of heat in the air didn't help things so it chilled her to the bone. Cloud was definitely the least affected and his sapphire eyes seemed to burn with a light that made his companions a bit worried. Despite the onslaught of the rain, Cloud didn't slow down in his stride.

"Hey, spiky, willya slow down already?" Cid was annoyed at not being able to smoke in the rain and Cloud's quick pace wasn't doing anything to help his current state of mind.

"That thunder-headed man said that Sephiroth is waiting for me. Like he said, I'm the hunter."

"Jeez, yer friggin' obsessed, ain'tcha?" Cid raised his brow "Every time that cat-eyed bastard shows up, ya just gotta go after him like it's your entire purpose in life."

Cloud turned his head, glaring at Cid who was just as pleased as he was. Cloud hefted his sword on his shoulder and brushed his wet bangs away from his eyes. Everyone inched away from the two, who looked about ready to kill each other.

"Just what the FUCK do you expect me to do, EH!?" Cloud snapped "That friggin' bastard has come back, so what the hell do you want me to do?"

"You snot-nosed prick, you don't even know what the hell he's up to. He could be askin' you to play checkers for all we know."

"Checkers my ass, I can't rest easy knowing that jerkass seems to be as unkillable as a cockroach."

"Fine, go get'cher ass kicked for all I fuckin' care!"

Cloud took Cid's advice, heading north along the streets until the endless torrent of rain concealed his very image. Rude opened a house door, ducking in to escape the rain as everyone else was willing to do. Needless to say, everyone was wringing what water they could out of their clothes, though it seemed a bit unnecessary since they would be soaked to the bone anyway if they went outside. Marlene took a seat on a chair, setting her gun against the wall.

"Just what is up with Cloud?" she looked to Cid, who was busy filling his lungs with the smoke he cherished. After expelling a cloud so big it concealed his face, Cid answered.

"That's just how the bastard is. Every time that silver-haired freak is mentioned, it seems Spiky just HAS to do something about it."

"I though we were over all this crap." Rude had taken off his jacket "Eight years ago I thought we wouldn't have encountered stress like this."

"Tch, that bastad, every friggin' time 'e gets a chance, 'e'll just go mopin around like some sorta soap opera o' sometin'."

Cid had already used his first cigarette and quickly replaced it with another.

"Truth is, he still has weird hallucinations every now and then. Apparently 'e's got it so bad he needs pills for it."

"Really? I thought he was over all that stuff awhile ago."

"Mako-poisoning does things to the mind that can't be totally reversed." Nanaki looked at the rain "They're not as bad as they used to be, but it's not as though they can disappear within two, three, or even ten years."

"So, what does that mean for Cloud?"

"Marlene, if we knew, we would be able to tell you."

XXXXX

Cloud made his way through the soaked streets, his eyes locked to the north. Even with no sun to tell him the way, Cloud knew exactly where he was going. Even if he were blind, deaf, and mute he could still find that silver-haired snake.

Though Cloud had noticed it some time before, it was now that he began to truly see that the streets were indeed empty as a ghost town. Unlike the underground entrance, the streets were actually free of any sort of beasts or undead. It was well known that undead creatures would not dare show their faces in the sunlight, but overcast days were fair game. And what exactly would keep beasts from coming above? Cloud, despite the idea weighing upon his mind, shrugged it off and continued forward.

Up ahead was what appeared to be some sort of forest. However, instead of trees Cloud saw tall spires of bamboo shooting into the sky. He remembered when he visited Wutai with Tifa a couple years ago that the bamboo shoots were impressive, but nothing like these. These were like monoliths that grew next to each other thickly.

"Ah, the forest of the snowflies."

That slight accent made Cloud whirl around with his hand at the hilt of his sword. That thunder-headed man was standing on the grass with his hands in his pockets. Cloud would have drawn his sword, but the man merely gestured for him not to bother.

"Quick to draw the blade, eh? Nasty habit there, lad."

"Tch, that's what that maniac said to me a couple hours ago."

"Not surprising." He strolled forward, sizing up Cloud "A wee li'l man such as yourself, I'm surprised he lost to ye."

"What's your relation to him?" Cloud glared, seeing the man pass him by and look into the forest.

"I'm just his teacher, nothing more. If ye were expecting something more dramatic, ye'll not get it, lad."

"Lad, my name is Cloud, uh, er…"

"Riot, Ashley Riot, and I ask ye remember it well."

Cloud put his sword back in its rightful place. Even if he disliked this Ashley fellow, he wasn't so despicable that he'd attack an unarmed man. Ashley still looked to the forest which transfixed Cloud with its eerily soothing silence.

"Just why do you chase after that man anyway?"

"He told me I was the hunter so it's my duty, isn't it?"

"I suppose, he was always a bit playful, even as a young'n. Even so, your problems aren't with him."

"What makes you say that?"

Ashley tapped his chest, obviously pointing out the rood that was hidden under Cloud's shirt. Cloud gripped the cloth tightly in response.

"Alright, so what does it mean?"

"You're a vagrant, that's what it means."

"Vagrant?"

"All of us were like that. Just drifters in life, vagrants that were little more than shells. Your reasons, however, seem to be most pathetic."

"Are you insulting me or something?"

Ashley began to walk back to the town, not giving Cloud so much as a glance. He did, however, stop for a moment.

"Follow the snowflies, they gather where your quarry is."

Cloud wasn't quite sure what Ashley meant, but he wasted no further time in trekking into the maze of bamboo that the forest was.

XXXXX

"Tch, if I weren't blind I would've gotten lost in that damned place."

Sephiroth gathered himself properly after going through Snowfly Forest. To most people the forest would displace them quickly with its winding, often nonsensical paths. Luckily, Sephiroth's eyes couldn't place tricks on him. After trudging through for almost an hour, he came to a clearing at the end of the woods.

Like the rest of the forest, the rain from Lea Monde didn't appear to reach the ground as it usually did. Instead a thick mist enveloped the clearing as though it were hiding something. In this case, the mist was.

Sephiroth's ears perked up, hearing that clanking of metal and that odd grunt he heard while he had been in the forest. He drew Shinhiryuujin from its scabbard, its flames spilling out and burning away the mist that its blade cut through. The metallic sound grew steadily closer, a huge, dark form now somewhat discernible through the haze. Sephiroth grinned.

"Looks like something from the scrapheap has decided to play."

If Sephiroth could still see, his eyes would now clearly make out a large, black suit of armor in the clearing. The armor held no one in it though, instead walking on its own. In its hand it held a long, thick sword probably as long as Sephiroth was tall.

A Dullahan, a type of spirit that was often clad in armor and without a head. With this particular variety, it was of the Crusader class since no body was in it. Sephiroth had heard of them from her, especially since there was no shortage of wayward souls in Lea Monde to possess the abnormally large suits of armor that were lying around the city. Sephiroth held his katana out properly, readying himself for the large phantom's attack.

It would have come, if Sephiroth didn't hear another form approaching from the other side. Another Dullahan, nearly identical to the black one though this was red armor. Like its partner, it wielded a long, oblong blade in its one hand. Sephiroth sighed, perhaps a bit flustered that he'd have to be serious.

"My, my, looks like Bimafuke can finally dance with her partner again."

Sephiroth's right hand went to the other sword at his belt, drawing it. Instead of flames, frost crackled from the sheath as Sephiroth unsheathed it. This blade was practically ice itself, giving off a cold mist so intense that the damp grass started frosting over. Sephiroth gathered himself, setting his blades at a low stance that had their tips tickling the grass.

The Dullahans only gave Sephiroth that moment, both of them swinging their swords as swiftly as Sephiroth could swing his own. Any normal man would have been free of his head with that great, scything attack, but luckily Sephiroth wasn't normal. Both his swords were keeping the longer blades of the Dullahans at bay, though even Sephiroth was only human and it was taking quite a bit of his own strength to keep his head from coming off.

"It's times like this that I wish I hadn't been knocked down a few notches."

With a great surge, Sephiroth pushed the blades of his enemies away and went on the offensive. He wasted no time going for the unholy suits of armor, aiming for the red one. He dashed in low, Bimafuke ready to slice the Dullahan. If only the black one hadn't been around though.

Sephiroth barely had time to hear the whistling of the blade coming from behind him. He kicked with his leg and managed to avoid the crushing blow that would have cleaved him in two. Sephiroth skid on the grass, kicking up a lot of dew from the grass. He grinned as he always did at the possessed armor. Fighting two enemies that far outranked him in size and matched him in power was quite an interesting situation, at least for him.

This time the Dullahan's charged, their movements synchronizing perfectly as their sword were swung at the exact same moment. A deft leap kept Sephiroth's head on his shoulders and allowed him prime position for a strike. He struck downward with Shinhiryuujin, its flames creating a blazing arc before the blade struck the red Dullahan's sword in a shower of sparks. It was just the moment the beast was waiting for though.

The black partner went to work and swung at Sephiroth hanging in the air. Once again Sephiroth's instincts saved him as he vaulted off the red Dullahan's blade and leapt backwards in a rather inelegant fashion. Sephiroth landed about ten feet away, blood oozing from a shallow cut on his cheek. He didn't have time to tend to the blood as his opponents quickly leapt to him.

This fight was going nowhere. Even with his own enhanced physiology, Sephiroth was no god. His opponents on the other hand had no bodies, let alone lungs. Things that didn't breath couldn't get tired, he could. Gritting his teeth, Sephiroth sheathed Shinhiryuujin and held Bimafuke with both hands. Despite its name, the icy sword seemed to become like a violent blizzard with frost whirling around its blade. Now it was Sephiroth's turn to attack.

The red Dullahan accepted the challenge and met the silver-haired man head-on, its hands taking hold of its massive blade. Sephiroth's strike came from below, though several feet short of reaching the Dullahan. Or so the daemon thought. Like a deadly bush, needles of ice erupted from the ground in a violent manner that impaled the Dullahan. Despite the integrity of the armor, the ice was like a spear and went through the solid mail like paper. The armor damaged to the point of uselessness, the Dullahan was now just another suit of armor left to rust.

The other rushed to Sephiroth, sword held high as it charged. Whether it was from annoyance or not, Sephiroth drew Shinhiryuujin once more. Oddly, the way he held the blade was back-handed and set the sword's hilt to Bimafuke's.

"I find this a bit barbarous, but I can't expect anything else from Kyobasenji."

CLICK.

Like a dancer Sephiroth spun and through the attached blades like a disc. The Dullahan, if it was capable of higher thoughts, wouldn't have known what to think of a literal tornado suddenly bursting from the spinning blades. Needless to say, the demonic armor was ripped apart by the razor-sharp blades that consumed it. When the whirlwind subsided, all that was left was a scrap of armor and the sword that did the deed impaled on the ground. Uncharacteristically worn out, Sephiroth strolled over to his weapon and removed it from the ground.

"Damn it if I get worn out before I enter the Maiden I might as well be asking for that whore of an edifice to have her way with me."

After separating the blades and sheathing them, Sephiroth withdrew his pipe from his coat and breathed deeply. A stream shot out rather quickly as though to signal his relief after doing such an exhausting fight. That however was coming to an end as he heard the sounds of someone practically stampeding through the forest.

"Oh bloody hell."

None to his surprise, he saw Cloud coming out of the curtain of bamboo that was the forest's border. Cloud looked rather tired, breathing heavily as he looked at Sephiroth like a fox its prey. Sephiroth on the other hand looked at Cloud like any sane man would look at a tramp.

"You…!" Cloud would have said more if he weren't out of breath and Sephiroth was clearly raising his hand in a "stop" fashion.

"Listen here, I just beat two rather annoying heaps of iron, so would you mind me at least being able to get some damned relaxation for five minutes?"

Cloud wasn't about to protest as running around the forest like a man possessed wasn't doing good things for his constitution. He fell on his ass with his sword sticking in the ground while Sephiroth finished off the bowl of his pipe and prepared another.

"You've gotten a bit sloppy." Cloud was pointing to the blood on Sephiroth's cheek, now beginning to dry.

"Oh please, I'm working with as much as you are now. Even with this city giving me some aid, it's not as though I'm much more than I was fifteen years ago."

"The almighty god knocked down to a mere mortal, eh? How fitting."

Sephiroth grinned as he brushed the back of his hand over his cheek to clean off the blood. He sighed and blew out another stream of smoke.

"I can't believe you were a dumb enough bastard to do what I say."

"What?"

"I'm saying, I can't believe you're still as stupid as you were ten years ago. I say "chase" you follow me like a rabid bloodhound. By the gods you're dumb."

Cloud stood up, annoyed with Sephiroth's insults. He readied his sword, though it didn't so much as raise Sephiroth's brow.

"Yes, still the same pious child from over a decade ago."

"Shut up!"

Cloud swung his sword he swung it so hard the gust of wind sent dew flying from the grass at his feet. His strike died at Sephiroth's coat however, his sword not even cutting the lapel of Sephiroth's coat. Sighing, Sephiroth pocketed his pipe.

"What, confused? Actually got your head on straight and decided I'm no longer the source of your torment?"

"Shut up!"

Sephiroth merely brushed Cloud's sword aside like a toy and tilted his head at the shorter man.

"Cloud Strife, always playing the tortured hero and trapping himself in self-made cages. No wonder that woman of yours couldn't take it anymore."

Cloud's eyes widened at Sephiroth's comment.

"How did you know?"

"Oh for the love of god, your torment is screaming so damn loud I can hear it like a dragon's screech. Especially arrogant cases are quite loud."

"Arrogant!?"

Cloud made another swing, though all he struck was air as Sephiroth did that odd teleportation to avoid him. Cloud fell headfirst into the damp grass while Sephiroth remained standing.

"That poor woman, to think she was foolish enough to stay with a man as willingly miserable as you. Then again, I suppose that's why she stayed with you for so long."

"Don't act like you know anything about me! It's not like you can read my mind!"

"I don't need to. Besides, I don't "read", I "hear" it."

Cloud looked as Sephiroth went to the other end of the clearing, approaching some sort of cave.

"Sephiroth!"

The silver-haired man turned on his heel to face Cloud.

"Do what you may, Cloud, follow me if it satisfies you, but don't expect any answers to your damn problems from me."

Sephiroth disappeared into the mist, Cloud looking on at where his black-clothed form had been only moments later. Cloud stood, not sure what to make of that man any longer.

"…Tif…I…I have no excuses."

XXXXX

Author's Notes: Well, that was one of the flightier chapters. Guess being away for too damn long got my groove outta wack. Well hopefully I can keep this groove on since this is one of my personal favorite works I've been doing. Anyway, here's some data.

Bimafuke (lit. Beautiful Dancing Winter Lotus)- Shinhiryuujin's partner. Instead of a fire sword, it emits ice.

Kyobasenji (lit. Brutal Ripping Whirlwind Warrior) – The Shinhiryuujin and Bimafuke attached at the hilts. This blade produces winds so sharp that they can cut even the hardiest of metals with ease.

Dullahan: An unholy fairy from Irish folklore, the Dullahan is typically a humanoid being riding a headless black horse and had its own head tucked under its arm. The head is said to be rotting and has a literal ear-to-ear grin. They also wield a whip made from a human spinal column and they also may ride carriages made from bones. A famous depiction is of course the Headless Horseman and are popular creatures in videogames and fantasy fiction


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